Michelin announced that it has partnered with autonomous tech upstart Einride.
Pierre Martin Heut, Michelin’s director of supply chain & logistics, says the tire maker plans to deploy Einride’s autonomous-enabled, cab-less electric truck next year in a fenced area at its tire production facilities in Clermont-Ferrand, France before heading out on public roads pending government approval. Heut announced the partnership at Michelin’s annual global green mobility Movin’On Summit in Montreal.
Einride’s T-pod is capable of SAE Level 4 autonomous driving via a Nvidia Drive hardware and software platform.
Last month, Einride put its autonomous T-pod on a public road at logistics firm DB Schenker DB Schenker’s facility in Jönköping, Sweden. The T-pod is now used to transport goods between a warehouse and terminal at the facility.
The Swedish Transport Agency in March ruled the T-pod able to operate in accordance with Swedish traffic regulations and days later approved Einride’s application to expand the pilot to a public road. The permit applies to a public road within an industrial area – between a warehouse and a terminal and is valid through 2020.
Einride and DB Schenker entered into a commercial agreement in April 2018 that includes the pilot in Jönköping and an option for additional pilots internationally.
