INSUBCONTINENT EXCLUSIVE:
Volvo Group has established a new dedicated business group focused on autonomous transportation, with a mandate that covers industry
segments like mining, ports and moving goods between logistics hubs of all kinds
The vehicle maker has already been active in putting autonomous technology to work in these industries, with self-driving projects —
including at a few quarries and mines, and in the busy port located at Gothenburg, Sweden.
The company sees demand for this kind of
autonomous technology use growing, and decided to establish an entire business unit to address it
The newly formed group will be called Volvo Autonomous Solutions, and its official mission is to &accelerate the development,
commercialization and sales of autonomous transport solutions,& focused on the kind of transportation &where there is a need to move large
volumes of goods and material on pre-defined routes, in receptive flows.
Their anticipation of the growth of this sector comes in part from
direct customer feedback, the automaker notes
It seen &significant increase in inquires from customers,& according to a statement from Martin Lundstedt, Volvo Group president and
CEO.
Officially, Volvo Autonomous Solutions won''t be a formal new business area under its parent company until January 2020, but the
company is looking for a new head of the unit already, and it clear they see a lot of potential in this burgeoning market.
Unlike autonomous
driving for consumer automobiles, this kind of self-driving for fixed-route goods transportation is a nice match to the capabilities of
technology as they exist today
These industrial applications eliminate a lot of the chaos and complexity of driving in, say, urban environments and with a lot of other
human-driven vehicles on the road, and their routes are predictable and repeatable.
