MOTORHUB MAGAZINE
Autonomous
Truck
mercedes to start
making pick up trucks
W
e’ve all been hearing a lot about the autonomous car, but now comes news of
an autonomous big rig. Meet the Daimler Freightliner Inspiration Truck.
The Daimler Freightliner Inspiration Truck - the
first autonomous commercial truck licensed by the
state of Nevada -can drive itself without any human intervention and is due to provide a demonstration tomorrow along with the release of its
specifications.
The technology behind the Inspiration Truck is
said to be based on the Adaptive Cruise Control
system that we see in many cars today. In this application, it has been combined with the front radar
and stereo camera systems to help identify public
roads and motorways, traffic signals and other motorists as a human driver would, only better.
The aim of the Inspiration Truck is to promote
a more efficient and safe means of commercial
transportation along motorways and, although the
truck is fully autonomous, it still requires a driver/
supervisor to take charge. The responsibility of the
driver will be to ensure that the truck’s operational
systems are in check and to provide assistance if
the truck were to malfunction.
Although beta testing of this truck will only take
place in the state of Nevada, the Freightliner Inspiration Truck points to the future of commercial
trucking worldwide. A quick search on Twitter
shows a surprising number of people already calling it the future of trucking.
D
aimler AG said it would expand its cooperation with partner Nissan Motor Co Ltd to develop a mid-sized pickup truck for Mercedes-Benz as the German premium automaker seeks to narrow
its sales gap with rival BMW.
“Thanks to our well-established partnership with the Renault-Nissan Alliance, we are able to drastically reduce the time and cost to enter this key
segment.”
Mercedes announced it will build a medium-sized pickup truck for customers outside North America, entering a new vehicle category which has
been dominated by lower-priced brands.
Mercedes, Nissan and Renault have shared engines, plants and vehicle underpinnings for small cars since an alliance was struck between the car
makers in 2010. Since then, collaboration has expanded from three common vehicle projects to 13.
The Mercedes-Benz 1-ton pickup truck will be built by Nissan in Cordoba,
Argentina, along with the Nissan NP300 and a Renault-branded truck, for
Latin America, Daimler said.
The three trucks will also be built in the Nissan plant in Barcelona, Spain,
for other markets, excluding North America. Production of the trucks at
the two plants will start by the end of the decade, the companies said.
The Barcelona plant will produce about 120,000 vehicles annually for the
three partners, while the Cordoba plant will produce nearly 70,000 vehicles a year.
New Lamborghini SUV
T
he arrival of Lamborghini’s first SUV can be expected in
2018. The new model will be produced in Sant’Agata Bolognese, Italy, and represents an opportunity for growth
and during the lifecycle of the vehicle.
A joint commitment of several parties including Volkswagen,
Audi, the Italian Ministry of Economic Development, and the
Lamborghini team, will ensure that the project is realized.
The factory at Sant’Agata Bolognese will be upgraded with the
construction of new facilities such as a new production line,
warehousing and expansion of the R&D department. Lamborghini will also look to employ at least 500 new employees.
With its SUV, Lamborghini will seek to exploit the fast growing
luxury SUV segment while increasing its clientele.
About 3 000 units will be produced annually and distributed
to markets such as the USA, China, Middle East and Europe.
ISSUE #2 Jun - Sept
15