Overview
- Aurora and McLane, in a commercial agreement announced Wednesday, will run autonomous trucks between Dallas and Houston and plan to extend routes across the U.S. Sun Belt by year‑end.
- These trucks operate without a human driver at the controls, though an in‑cab observer rides per truck maker Paccar’s requirement and does not touch the wheel or pedals.
- The service covers the long‑haul middle mile and then hands loads at Aurora’s terminals to McLane drivers who handle local deliveries to restaurants and retailers.
- In its first‑quarter update, Aurora said it will launch a second‑generation hardware kit in Q2 on International LT trucks to enable operations without observers and aims to field more than 200 driverless trucks by year‑end.
- The companies built to this from a 2023 pilot that logged about 280,000 autonomous miles and 1,400 loads, and Aurora reports growing demand including seven driverless‑cohort customers and a nonbinding Hirschbach plan for 500 trucks starting in 2027.