Aurora Innovation has signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) with Charger Logistics, under which the transportation company intends to purchase up to 500 trucks powered by Aurora’s autonomous driving system. Deliveries are planned for 2027 and 2028, subject to a final agreement.
The proposed purchase builds on an existing contract signed in July and reflects Charger Logistics’ plans to expand autonomous trucking across its freight network.
Planned Deployment Across Freight Routes
Charger Logistics operates across the United States and Mexico, transporting goods for the food and beverage, pharmaceutical, automotive and retail industries. The company plans to deploy the trucks on existing and new high-volume routes, including corridors near the US-Mexico border.
“Since launching autonomous operations along the Laredo corridor, we’ve realized immediate operational benefits that point to a clear path to scaling,” said Andy Khera, President of Charger Logistics.
“Aurora’s plans to open long-haul, high-volume routes position us to scale geographically while we integrate autonomy from our TMS to the road, building a resilient and autonomous ecosystem for our customers.”
Driver-as-a-Service Model
Following a definitive agreement, Charger intends to subscribe to Aurora’s Driver as a Service (DaaS) model while owning the physical trucks. The arrangement is designed to help carriers manage fleet assets and pursue total cost of ownership savings while using Aurora’s autonomous driving technology.
“Andy and the team have decades of experience leveraging technology to move large volumes of freight across the continent, which makes owning driverless trucks a natural next step,” said Zac Andreoni, Vice President of Business Development at Aurora.
“Owning the physical asset is the logical choice for our customers: it makes today’s operations more efficient and enables carriers to grow their business, keeping them competitive.”
Aurora views DaaS agreements as a key part of its target to scale to 30,000 driverless trucks by 2030. The company said other customers are also pursuing arrangements to own and operate their own autonomous fleets.
Aurora Targets 30,000 Self-Driving Trucks and $5 Billion Revenue by 2030
Aurora Prepares for Fleet Expansion
Aurora said its second-generation hardware and trucks are intended to support customers seeking to expand autonomous freight operations and serve more routes.
“With the launch of our second-generation hardware and trucks, Aurora is ready to support our customers’ ambitions to grow their networks and move more freight with driverless trucks,” Andreoni added.
The proposed 500-truck purchase remains subject to a final agreement, with deliveries planned across 2027 and 2028.