Volvo plans fully driverless trucks by Q1 2027

Volvo Autonomous Solutions will remove safety drivers from its trucks and begin fully driverless operations on U.S. highways in the first quarter of 2027, according to details shared at Volvo Group's Capital Markets Day. The company expects to deploy more than 300 autonomous trucks by the end of 2027, with industrial scaling beginning in 2028. Revenue from autonomous operations is projected to reach approximately $3 billion within five years. Technology partner Aurora Innovation confirmed the milestone in a LinkedIn post, stating: "In Q1 2027, we'll deploy those trucks with nobody behind the wheel in Texas." Volvo Autonomous Solutions currently operates commercial routes in Texas between Dallas and Houston, Fort Worth and El Paso, and Dallas to Oklahoma City, all with safety drivers aboard. The Oklahoma City expansion, launched earlier this year, represents a shift to point-to-point delivery directly into customer facilities rather than hub-to-hub transfers, eliminating the drayage segment that previously required separate first- and last-mile operations. For trucking fleets, the economic advantage centers on asset utilization. Autonomous trucks can operate around the clock without hour-of-service restrictions, potentially doubling utilization compared to conventional operations. Volvo has built an uptime network with dealers across operating lanes to ensure high availability, recognizing that realizing these gains requires more than autonomous-capable vehicles alone. According to Sasko Cuklev, head of On-Road Solutions at Volvo Autonomous Solutions, the technology requires "higher operational precision and much deeper integration into the customer."