Navistar, TuSimple shelve autonomous trucking co-development plans

Navistar and autonomous trucking technology partner TuSimple have shelved their co-development plans, but a joint announcement notes they could choose to work together again in the future.

The news comes as TuSimple also sees the return of a familiar face in the executive suite.

“I decided to return as TuSimple’s CEO to address the challenges ahead and to set us on a path to longterm stability,” said Cheng Lu, CEO of TuSimple, who was recently rehired to the role. “We have proven our technology works, and I’m committed to addressing the concerns of stakeholders. I firmly believe in this company and its ability to improve the safety and efficiency of the trucking industry through world-class autonomous driving technology.”

“Navistar believes autonomous driving technologies will be a key component of a future transportation and logistics system and is committed to the development of a safe and efficient autonomous driving solution,” added Navistar vice-president Srinivas Gowda in the same release.

 The two companies agreed in 2020 to work together in developing an autonomous truck by 2024.

TuSimple has been struggling to overcome concerns about its safety, after the Wall Street Journal reported on an accident involving a truck equipped with its technologies earlier this year.

RM Law, one of several legal firms pursuing a class action lawsuit against TuSimple on behalf of investors, said the article “referenced an April 6, 2022, accident involving a truck fitted with TuSimple’s autonomous driving technology, noting that regulators disclosed the accident to the public in June after TuSimple filed a report on the incident, which underscores concerns that the autonomous-trucking company is risking safety on public roads in a rush to deliver driverless trucks to market, according to independent analysts and more than a dozen of the company’s former employees.”