Volkswagen’s HGV subsidiary the Traton Group has agreed a partnership with American self-driving technology company focused on heavy-duty trucks.

Traton will work with San Diego-based TuSimple to develop self-driving trucks, launching a development programme to operate the first SAE level 4 autonomous hub-to-hub route between Södertälje to Jönköping in Sweden using Scania trucks. As part of the partnership, TRATON has also taken a minority stake in TuSimple.

“The global partnership with TuSimple is another step towards becoming a Global Champion. Innovative future technologies that provide additional value to our customers represent a key part of our strategy,” said Matthias Gründler, Chief Executive Officer at Traton Group. The company adds that the first test vehicles underway are aiming for Level 4 (high automation).

TuSimple has already been trying out its technology since 2015 with several million test kilometres on public roads and is a leading developer of autonomous driving, for example in the fields of perception and night vision.