Isuzu North America Corporation and Gatik have agreed to collaborate on a project to develop and evaluate fully autonomous medium duty trucks. Isuzu is a provider of Low Cab Forward (LCF) trucks in the U.S. and Canadian markets. Gatik automates on-road transportation networks for B2B middle-mile logistics. This collaboration is an industry first in the medium duty category and will accelerate the commercialization of autonomous delivery fleets while contributing to a safer and more sustainable logistics community in the future, the company says.
The collaboration will integrate Gatik’s autonomous driving technology into several Isuzu medium duty N-Series trucks to produce SAE Level 4 delivery vehicles with redundant systems. The first vehicles will be deployed this year thanks to the cooperative efforts of Gatik’s and Isuzu’s engineering teams.
“By bringing these two teams together, we can create segment-changing technology while positioning Gatik to safely commercialize autonomous delivery technology at scale,” said Gautam Narang, CEO and co-founder of Gatik. “Isuzu N-Series trucks have been best-sellers in their class in the combined U.S.-Canadian market for 35 consecutive years, making them an ideal fit for our solution. We are excited to combine our industry-leading expertise and bring a long-term, sustainable solution to the supply chain.”
“As customer requirements for the medium duty product evolve at an increasingly rapid pace, having the ability to collaborate with Gatik, an industry leader in autonomous technology, is very exciting for our team,” said Takashi Sadaoka, president and CEO of Isuzu North America Corporation.
Rapidly increasing ecommerce sales and a well-documented driver shortage have caused businesses to struggle to meet the expectations of on-demand goods movement. This effort will combine Gatik’s autonomous driving software and operational expertise with Isuzu’s award-winning truck platform to address these critical industry pain points, ensuring retailers can maintain capacity, lower operating costs, and keep delivery times short.
