Published:
April 21, 2021 14:37 GMT
According to the company founder, the day after Elon Musk announced the launch of the Tesla Semi, his team had already launched their first independent electric truck, called the Pod.
When asked which company was the first to devise an autonomous electric truck that can travel on a public highway, most people will erroneously answer it as Tesla, Alphabet’s Waymo, Uber or Lyft.
But it’s not about any big car or truck manufacturer, it’s about Einride, a Swedish startup that was founded in 2016. The company’s co-founder, Linnéa Kornehed, 29, claimed This Wednesday in an interview with Forbes that the day after Elon Musk announced the release Tesla Simi, His company has already launched its first autonomous electric truck, called the Pod.
The businesswoman explained that Ayn Want has grown in recent years to include 100 employees and raised a total of $ 41 million in funding. In addition, it cooperates with large companies such as Coca-Cola, Lidl and the Swedish food brand Oatly or the multinational telecom company Ericsson.
Einride business model
Like Apple, the Swedish startup is responsible for the design, technology and brands of its trucks, as well as control over the entire chain that it outsource production, assembly and logistics. Nevertheless, Cornhead stressed, “Ain Want is basically a ‘software’ company.
The company has adopted the Transport as a Service (TaaS) model, which means that its customers do not buy their cars, but rather subscribe to a monthly service. The business woman explained that choosing this innovative business model lies in the specific characteristics of autonomous driving and electric driving.
“Both autonomous driving and electric driving require careful and systematic planning. The best way to do this is at the fleet level, with global planning that is efficient and safe and takes full advantage of the autonomy and charging capabilities of the vehicles,” he explains. With the TaaS model, “software” platform, and control room, the team can plan much more efficiently for what individual carriers can do, thereby helping them save money and reduce emissions.
Advantages of Autonomous Electric Trucks
Cornhead stressed that “road freight transportation is responsible for 7% of global greenhouse gas emissions,” while “freight volumes are growing 3-4% each year.” Use Trucks Autonomous electric cars can reduce carbon dioxide emissions by 90% and operating costs by 60%, while radically improving road safety.
The businesswoman added that “logistics and transportation are very important in the global economy today,” as is travel, so “we must be able to maintain all of that, but in a responsible and sustainable way.”
According to Kornehed, Einride wants to be an example and show the switch to electric and autonomous cargo transportation is within reach. He explained that the next steps for the company will be to start its operations in the United States and expand further in Europe.
“We hope to show people and companies that change is possible. But change does not happen on its own. By achieving everything we have achieved in just five years through the ‘startup’, we hope to inspire others to take their own sustainability initiatives,” he concludes.
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