Ford Trucks’ F-MAX tractors with Ford Otosan and AVL platooning technology, have completed initial test drives.
Ford Otosan and AVL also broke new ground in Turkey following the joint project’s platooning tests.
Go deeper with GlobalData
Discover B2B Marketing That Performs
Combine business intelligence and editorial excellence to reach engaged professionals across 36 leading media platforms.
Ford Otosan assistant general manager, Burak Gökçelik and AVL EVP, Rolf Dreisbach joined the launch event of the platooning technology at the Otosan Eskisehir Plant and stressed the collaboration’s role in developing and testing autonomous truck technology in Turkey.
“This is an important milestone on the road to autonomous driving in heavy commercial transportation,” said Gökçelik. “This R&D project will enable us to advance smart mobility, reduce carbon emissions and fuel consumption and improve road safety.
“In the next phases of the project and long term we aim to develop SAE-Level 4 autonomous driving features and realise hub-to-hub autonomous highway transportation. We are pleased to be one of the few truck manufacturers in the world investing and working on autonomous truck technologies with a prototype product.”
For his part, AVL’s Global Business Development & International Operations Truck & Bus EVP, Rolf Dreisbach added, “There are several benefits of platooning, such as the reduction of total cost of ownership and increased fuel savings. Very important to point out is also the increase in safety, which can be realised on all levels of autonomous driving.
“In this joint development project, we aim to increase autonomous driving levels of vehicles and, ultimately, reach a level where no human driver is needed behind the steering wheel. This means we can solve the driver shortage and make transports more cost efficient and safer.”
