Aurora has added a 600-mile unmanned route from Fort Worth to El Paso. This will be the self-driving technology company’s second self-driving truck.
The company announced the expansion Tuesday along with its third-quarter earnings report. Aurora also announced that its five self-driving trucks have logged more than 100,000 miles of unmanned driving on public roads since the company began commercial service in May. The company’s next predefined goal is to expand into Phoenix by the end of the year.
Aurora’s first commercial service began on the Dallas to Houston route with launch customers Hirschbach Motor Lines and Uber Freight.
Aurora said the route from Fort Worth to El Paso is long enough to be attractive to airlines, citing staffing challenges and the difficulty of completing the 10-hour trip in one day. Customers on the El Paso route include Hirschbach Motor Line Co. and Russell Transport Co.
Aurora also shared details about next-generation hardware manufactured by Fabrinet that will be integrated into Volvo VNL Autonomous trucks. Aurora plans to build hundreds of trucks with next-generation hardware in 2026.
He said the overall cost is half that, even though the hardware has increased durability and performance. The company’s new generation of LIDAR detects objects 1,000 meters away, twice the distance of the current generation. Aurora also has improved sensor cleaning, which will allow it to operate more reliably in harsh weather conditions.
“Integrating Aurora’s next-generation hardware with Volvo VNL Autonomous at the pilot line at our New River Valley facility marks an industry-first partnership and highlights the meaningful progress we are making together,” said Nils Jaeger, president of Volvo Autonomous Solutions. “By building autonomous-only trucks, we are moving beyond a prototype to create a scalable solution ready to meet the demands of modern supply chains.”
This next-generation hardware comes ahead of a high-capacity hardware suite being co-developed with Aumovio (formerly Continental) and is scheduled for production in 2027. The company plans to produce up to “tens of thousands of self-driving trucks” when its manufacturing partnership with Aumovio begins in 2027.
