Partnering with Isuzu to mass produce SAE Level 4 autonomous trucks

Isuzu is an international leader in transportation machinery and equipment, and today we announced a partnership with them to accelerate mass-production of SAE Level 4 (L4), production-ready, autonomous trucks. These vehicles will be equipped with robust and safety-critical redundant systems to accelerate the deployment of Freight-Only operations — without a human driver — at scale for Isuzu’s and Gatik’s fleet.

This agreement marks the first time an OEM and autonomy partner have committed to work together to establish a dedicated production facility to mass produce L4-capable autonomous trucks, a significant step beyond the R&D phase of other industry and OEM collaborations. As part of this agreement, Isuzu has invested $30m into Gatik. We have been working successfully with Isuzu since 2021 and this deepening of the partnership to mass produce L4 autonomous trucks will accelerate the deployment of Freight-Only operations at scale.

Gautam Narang, CEO and co-Founder of Gatik:

“In 2021, Gatik launched the world’s first fully driverless commercial transportation service with a Fortune 500 retailer and we are thrilled to be once again achieving an industry-first milestone by working with our partner Isuzu towards mass production of SAE Level 4 autonomous trucks. This partnership, coupled with Isuzu’s investment in Gatik, signals the company’s confidence in our technology and our world-class team, and we’re excited to bring autonomous transportation to the market at significant scale in the coming years.”

Under the terms of the agreement, we’re set to collaborate with Isuzu on the design, development, and production of an SAE L4, production-ready, autonomous truck with robust and safety-critical redundant systems (including braking, steering and sensors, as well as software) with complete validation required for operating at scale without a human driver. This truck platform will be manufactured on a first-of-its-kind production line at a dedicated manufacturing facility that will be established by Isuzu and begin operations in 2027.

Manufacturing at scale is key to commercializing the autonomous trucking industry and this partnership represents a significant development in the industry. Current autonomy manufacturing platforms simply modify existing trucks into self-driving vehicles at the end of a production line. The deployment of L4 autonomous vehicles at scale will allow Gatik and Isuzu to make a meaningful impact on the worsening driver shortage in North America and rapidly increasing needs and expectations of consumers.

Isuzu also intends to address growing demand by entering the middle-mile autonomous driving market in the Low Cab Forward Truck (LCF) segment, where the company has already established a market leadership position in the United States and Canada. First deliveries of L4-capable autonomous trucks from the new manufacturing facility are expected to be delivered to Gatik’s fleet customers.

Since we began autonomous deliveries, we’ve completed over 600k commercial orders for our customers in the United States and Canada. Our current fleet of more than 60 trucks, delivering with a 100% safety record, is a testament to the market’s demand and our autonomous capabilities. With this latest agreement with Isuzu, it’s clear that we will continue to own the middle-mile.