Gatik, Isuzu partner on MD autonomous trucks

Gatik and Isuzu North America Corp. have agreed to collaborate on a project to develop and evaluate fully autonomous medium-duty trucks. Gatik focuses on automating on-road transportation networks for B2B middle-mile logistics, while Isuzu manufactures medium-duty cabover engine trucks. This collaboration seeks to accelerate the commercialization of autonomous delivery fleets while addressing the recent boom in e-commerce sales and circumventing the driver shortage.

The first vehicles will be deployed this year and integrate Gatik’s autonomous driving technology into a number of Isuzu medium-duty N-Series trucks to produce SAE Level 4 delivery vehicles with redundant systems. Level 4 autonomy allows the truck to drive itself under most conditions.

“By bringing these two teams together, we can create segment-changing technology while positioning Gatik to safely commercialize autonomous delivery technology at scale,” said Gatik’s CEO and co-founder Gautam Narang. “Isuzu N-Series trucks have been best-sellers in their class in the combined U.S.-Canadian market for 35 consecutive years, making them an ideal fit for our solution. We are excited to combine our industry-leading expertise and bring a long-term, sustainable solution to the supply chain.”

“As customer requirements for the medium-duty product evolve at an increasingly rapid pace, having the ability to collaborate with Gatik, an industry leader in autonomous technology, is very exciting for our team,” said Takashi Sadaoka, president and CEO of Isuzu North America Corporation.