Autonomous transport solutions

Scania has started sales of driverless mining solutions, opening up for safer, more efficient and more sustainable mining operations. The solution has been developed in close collaboration with customers, and we will be deploying full scale driverless operations during 2026.

For on road, hub-to-hub transportation, we will be expanding our program of safety driver supported autonomous operations during the coming years. We are working closely with customers and operations partners to prepare for driverless operations and understand the needs and the value that we can create for our customers. Full scale driverless hub-to-hub operations are expected to be realized in Europe around 2030. 

Autonomous trucks have the potential to be safer than regular trucks. Some of the benefits of autonomous trucks include the elimination of human errors, such as fatigue, distraction and substance abuse, which are common causes of accidents.

Autonomous trucks have advanced sensors and machine learning algorithms that enables the highest level of safety both in enclosed environments like mines, and on-road. We also have robust processes and verification systems to ensure that our software and hardware are up to date and maintains the highest level of safety and reliability.

Our autonomous mining trucks have been extensively tested and validated to ensure they operate safely under real-world conditions.

Autonomous on-road trucks can detect potential hazards and respond quickly, more accurately than humans. However, like any new technology, there may be unforeseen problems that could cause accidents. Therefore, with safety as our main priority, we will continue use safety drivers until the system is able to handle all situations that it encounters before we go fully driverless.

AI is becoming an increasingly important part of modern society in many different sectors, including the transport industry. However, the shift to autonomous transport will not happen overnight. Also, in several parts of the world, including Europe, there is a significant driver shortage, causing delays in shipments and rising transportation costs. This trend is expected to increase over the foreseeable future and therefore we will rather see autonomous trucks countering the growing shortage of drivers worldwide on a short-to mid-term basis.

Yes, in principle as long as the road fulfils the preconditions and limitations stipulated by the responsible authority. But to actually start operations requires careful planning. Before we open up for autonomous trucks, the route must be surveyed in detail and additional testing on the specific road might be needed.

In 2024, Scania started sales of autonomous mining trucks, opening up for safer, more efficient and more sustainable mining operations.

Together with Australian mining group Rio Tinto, we have been testing self-driving trucks since 2018. In April 2022 we launched new trials in Rio Tinto's Channar mine on our 40-tonne-payload autonomous mining trucks and quickly reached a key milestone of driverless operation in a typical load and haul cycle environment.

In the hub-to-hub segment, in February 2021, Scania was the first European OEM to operate an L4 vehicle on public roads in Sweden, and since May 2022, we are granted permission from the Swedish transport authority to expand our testing route for autonomous driving.

In September 2022, Scania and transport company HAVI launched the first European pilot of fully autonomous vehicles carrying commercial goods on public roads.

For the mining segment, we will be deploying full scale driverless operations during 2026, as we are finalizing our trials in western Australia with our customer Rio Tinto.

We are also partnering with Australian mining services provider Regroup to launch our first fleet of autonomous in-pit mining trucks in commercial operations. These autonomous rigid G 560 8x4 tippers will begin operations during 2026, marking a milestone for Scania and Regroup, and for the global mining industry.

Over the coming years, Scania´s autonomous mining offer will gradually expand to a wider geographical area.

We also have high ambitions for the hub-to-hub segment and we will continue to focus on technology development together with our partners, as well as running commercial pilots together with customers to get a good understanding of their needs.

For hub-to-hub transport, autonomous driving without a safety driver on public roads requires proving to traffic authorities that it is safe. The best way to do this is still undecided and will likely involve driving many kilometres to demonstrate the system's ability to handle all situations. There is yet no consensus or EU-wide legislation on the requirements.

Efficient infrastructure is crucial for us and the industry as a whole and we want to keep the infrastructure requirements to an absolute minimum. Expensive upgrades often burden stakeholders with no direct benefit and can complicate safety measures.

Our vehicles operate without external help, apart from reliable GPS and a low-band cellular connection for commands and reporting. Our customers will only need minor adjustments to arrival areas and IT equipment for vehicle management. 

This depends a lot on the development of technical capabilities, but experts within our parent company TRATON have estimated that in 2026, 78 billion km’s of road transport will be suitable and addressable for autonomous driving.

This kind of calculation is quite difficult to make. Autonomous transport is less about the truck and more about the system in which it is being used. The main benefit with autonomy is that you are no longer trying to optimise the utilisation based on the

driver. These vehicles can operate 24/7 without breaks if the logistics planning allows for that, which opens up for an increase in productivity without creating a disproportionate extra cost.

In addition, autonomous trucks can travel at a constant speed and optimize their routes, which reduces fuel consumption and emissions. With real-time traffic data, they can also navigate to avoid congestion and minimise the time spent idling in

traffic.

We are working with the authorities to understand how the liability will be handled.

The liability is likely to be split a few ways, to the ground operator in preparing the vehicle for departure, to the control room who is monitoring the transport, and of course to us as the “driver” of the vehicle.

Yes, the vehicles cost more, approximately 1,5-2 times the price of a traditional vehicle. And there are additional operational costs with software licenses and the extra manpower to manage and monitor the vehicles. But with the driver today being a significant cost and productivity restriction, there is still a compelling business case. The additional costs are either fixed or scale very well, so the best case for autonomous driving is when it is done at scale and with high vehicle utilisation.