Published:
21 Apr 2021 14:37 GMT
According to the company’s co-founder, the day after Elon Musk announced the launch of the Tesla Semi, his team already launched its own first autonomous electric truck called the Pod.
When asked which company first made an autonomous electric truck that can drive on public roads, most people will incorrectly answer that it was Alphabet’s Tesla, Waymo, Uber or Lyft.
But it’s not one of the big car or truck manufacturers, but Einride, a Swedish start-up founded in 2016. Company co-founder Linnéa Kornehed, 29, said in an interview with Forbes on Wednesday the day after Elon Musk announced the launch of the Tesla Semi, his company already launched its own first autonomous electric truck called the Pod.
The businesswoman explained that Einride has grown to a hundred employees in recent years and raised a total of $ 41 million in funding. It also works with large companies such as Coca-Cola, Lidl, the Swedish food brand Oatly or the multinational telecommunications company Ericsson.
Einride business model
Like Apple, the Swedish startup is in charge of the design, technology and branding of its trucks, as well as the entire chain in which production, assembly and logistics are outsourced. Kornehed stressed, however, that “essentially Einride is primarily a ‘software company’.”
The company has adopted the Transport as a Service (TaaS) model, which means that its customers do not buy their vehicles, but subscribe to a monthly service. The businesswoman explained that the choice for this innovative business model lies in the specific characteristics of autonomous and electric driving.
“Both autonomous and electric driving require careful and systematic planning. The best way to do this is at the fleet level, so that there is global planning that is efficient, safe and takes full advantage of the autonomy and charging capabilities of the vehicles”. he explained. Through the TaaS model, the ‘software platform’ and a control room, the team can plan much more efficiently what individual transport companies could do and thus help them save money and reduce emissions.
Advantages of autonomous electric trucks
Kornehed stressed that currently “road freight transport is responsible for 7% of global greenhouse gas emissions”, while “the volume of goods shipped is growing by 3-4% every year”. Using autonomous electric trucks could reduce CO2 emissions by 90% and operating costs by 60%, while radically improving road safety, he says.
The businesswoman added that “logistics and transportation are very important in today’s global economy”, as is travel, so “we should be able to sustain all of that, but in a responsible and sustainable way.”
According to Kornehed, Einride wants to lead by example and show that the transformation to electric and autonomous freight transport is within reach. He explained that the company’s next steps are to start its operations in the US and expand further in Europe.
“We hope to show people and businesses that change is possible. But change does not come naturally. By achieving everything we have achieved in just five years with our ‘startup’, we hope to inspire others to take their own sustainability initiatives,” he concluded.
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