Skip to main content

Daimler Trucks acquires majority stake in Torc Robotics

Daimler Trucks has acquired a majority stake in Torc Robotics in a bid to commercialise highly automated trucks operating at SAE Level 4 on US roads. Roger Nielsen, CEO of Daimler Trucks North America (DTNA), says: “Torc’s Level 4 system has been shown to operate well for both urban and highway driving in rain, snow, fog, and sunshine.” Martin Daum, member of the board of management at Daimler, says the deal will combine the company’s truck hardware with Torc’s “agile software development”. Torc i
April 11, 2019 Read time: 2 mins

2069 Daimler Trucks has acquired a majority stake in Torc Robotics in a bid to commercialise highly automated trucks operating at 567 SAE Level 4 on US roads.

Roger Nielsen, CEO of Daimler Trucks North America (DTNA), says: “Torc’s Level 4 system has been shown to operate well for both urban and highway driving in rain, snow, fog, and sunshine.”

Martin Daum, member of the board of management at Daimler, says the deal will combine the company’s truck hardware with Torc’s “agile software development”.

Torc is expected to work closely with DTNA’s research and development team in Portland, Oregon, where DTNA focuses on further evolving automated driving technology and vehicle integration for heavy-duty trucks.

Torc will continue to develop its Asimov self-driving software and testing at its facility in Blacksburg, Virginia.

The company will retain its name, team, existing customers and facilities in Blacksburg. The closing of the deal is subject to approval from US authorities.

For more information on companies in this article

Related Content

  • FiveAI starts AV commuter trials in London
    October 28, 2019
    A consortium led by FiveAI called StreetWise is carrying out commuter research trials for autonomous vehicles (AVs) on public roads in London. FiveAI says the trials will aim to gather insights into AV services, which it says could offer a greener alternative to urban commuter cars. The software company is working with insurance group Direct Line and safety organisation Transport Research Laboratory (TRL) to carry out the trials in the boroughs of Croydon and Bromley. As part of the project, FiveAI has
  • Atlanta ponders Mobility as a Service for seamless transit
    June 29, 2018
    Drivers in Atlanta spent 70 hours in peak-time traffic jams last year. As the MaaS Market conference moves to the US’s fourth most congested city, we ask how Mobility as a Service can help. Colin Sowman winds down his window to listen. It is not by accident that ITS International’s first MaaS Market conference outside London is being hosted in Atlanta. The event is being supported by Georgia State Road & Tollway Authority and the City of Atlanta – and again not without a reason as metro Atlanta is looking
  • Virginia Automated Corridors unveiled
    June 3, 2015
    The Virginia Automated Corridors, a new initiative that its developers claim will revolutionise the development and deployment of automated vehicles, has been unveiled on more than 70 miles of interstates and arterial roads in the Northern Virginia region. The Corridors were established by the Virginia Tech Transportation Institute in partnership with the Virginia Department of Transportation; the Virginia Department of Motor Vehicles; Transurban; and Here, Nokia’s mapping business in support of the tran
  • Common European language for V2V and V2I communication demonstrated
    July 10, 2012
    A European Commission-sponsored research project took a significant step towards vehicle-to-vehicle (V2V) and vehicle to infrastructure (V2I) when it presented its results at the Dutch DITCM test site in Helmond last week. The event unveiled the Drive C2X reference system, demonstrating for the first time the ability to create a harmonised testing environment across Europe. The research project brings together car manufacturers, research institutes, authorities and information technology providers to provid