May 10, 2018 Trucks, Trucking, UD Trucks, autonomous, innovation, 2030,
UD Trucks has announced the launch of its roadmap towards the future of trucking - “Fujin & Raijin. Vision 2030”. The plan aims to deliver a variety of solutions for smart logistics, including fully-electric and autonomous trucks leading up to 2030. It takes a step-by-step approach to offer commercialised solutions for select automation and electromobility applications from 2020, with a view toward full-fledged commercialisation by 2030.
UD Trucks explains that by 2030, demand for parcel delivery is expected to grow 50% compared to 2014. To meet this demand, the logistics industry faces significant challenges, including a responsibility to reduce CO2 emissions, the growing scale of online commerce and driver shortages.
“When delivering on our promise to provide the trucks and services the world needs today, we have always done things a bit differently from others in our industry. As we now look forward, we are convinced that the world needs smart logistics,” said UD Trucks Chairman Joachim Rosenberg during the roadmap’s announcement at the Embassy of Sweden in Tokyo.
Automation is expected to drastically reshape the logistics industry, creating real-life benefits for both customers and society in terms of productivity, safety, energy and fuel efficiency. The commercial vehicle maker is now focusing on solutions for safe, low-speed automation in confined areas, including in-plant and harbour logistics. It is also exploring on-road Highway Auto Pilot and CACC (Cooperative Adaptive Cruise Control) platooning technologies in the near term, and more highly-automated on-road vehicles in the long term.
UD Trucks explains that it is committed to reducing the environmental impact of its products and is now developing technologies necessary to create silent, zero-emission vehicles that maximise energy efficiency, payload capacity and mileage. As battery systems continue to evolve, the company is testing a variety of solutions, including battery EV, parallel HEV and Series HEV.
Connectivity through digitalisation is the enabler of both automation and electromobility. In Japan, UD Trucks has around 45 000 vehicles connected through the UD Information Service, which uses data collected from each vehicle to help improve uptime. By analysing digital data collected from customer driving behaviour, UD Trucks also gains insight on how to design even safer and more dependable trucks.
“Since the launch of the New Quon in 2017, UD Trucks has moved steadily forward on its mission to drive the future of smart logistics. This innovation roadmap represents a major leap forward for both the company, the logistics industry, and our society,” said Douglas Nakano, Senior Vice President of UD Trucks Technology. “We are committed to ensuring that our customers around the world feel the full benefits of the solutions and products we are developing, which will ultimately make life better for everyone in our society.”
Over the course of 2018, UD Trucks will conduct demonstrations of autonomous driving and electric drive prototypes, targeting field tests and customer trials ahead of Tokyo Motor Show 2019. It aims to have vehicles in actual daily operation by the year 2020. All activities will be conducted with a view toward full-fledged commercialisation of fully-electric and autonomous trucks by 2030.
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