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 has already launched its own autonomous electric truck, called the Pod.
When asked which company was the first to create an autonomous electric truck that can travel on a public highway, most people will answer incorrectly that it was Tesla, Alphabet’s Waymo, Uber or Lyft.
But it’s not about any of the big car or truck manufacturers, it’s about Einride, a Swedish startup founded in 2016. The company’s co-founder, Linnéa Kornehed, 29, said in an interview with Forbes on Wednesday that the day after Elon Musk announced the launch of Tesla Semi, his company has already launched its first autonomous electric truck, called Pod.
The businesswoman explained that Einride has grown in recent years to one hundred employees and has raised a total of $ 41 million in funding. In addition, it collaborates 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 handles the design, technology and branding of its trucks, as well as the control of the entire chain in which it outsources production, assembly and logistics. However, Kornehed stressed that, at heart, 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 of this innovative business model consists in the specific characteristics of autonomous and electric management.
“Both autonomous and electric management require careful and systematic planning. The best way to do this is at fleet level, so that there is comprehensive planning that is efficient, safe and takes full advantage of autonomy. and the loading possibilities of the vehicles “, he explained. Through the TaaS model, the “software” platform and a control room, the team can plan more efficiently what individual transport companies could do and thus help them save money and reduce emissions.
The advantages of autonomous electric trucks
Kornehed pointed out that “road freight transport is currently responsible for 7% of global greenhouse gas emissions”, while “the volume of goods shipped is growing at a rate of 3-4% every year”. The use of 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 transport are very important in today’s global economy”, as are travel, so “we should be able to maintain all this, but in a responsible and sustainable way”.
According to Kornehed, Einride wants to set an example and show that the transformation into electric and autonomous freight transport is at hand. He explained that the company’s next steps will be to start its operations in the US and further expand in Europe.
“We hope to show people and companies that change is possible. But change does not happen by itself. 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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