Since then, several of the world’s largest truck manufacturers, such as Volvo, have announced similar electric plans. Startups are also entering the race to build pollution-free, cheap, and quiet trucks to replace diesel-powered trucks.
Robert Falck, a 36-year-old with a background at Volvo, and his team at the small Swedish startup Einride believe they’re better equipped than Tesla to give the trucking industry a jolt in the right direction.
“It [Tesla] is a fantastic company, but they didn’t go all the way. In many ways, we’ve gone further. You just have to face the facts, they’ve built an electric truck that is similar to what many others have shown.”
Einride was founded in 2016 and has, so far, received around 30 million Swedish kronor in venture capital, also unveiling their fully functional model in February this year. It has been likened to a “container on wheels.”
An autonomous T-Pod from Einride riding through a winter landscape.
Einride
The electrified and autonomous T-Pod has a range of up to 200 kilometers and will start delivering goods for its customers on public roads this fall, according to the company.
“One of the reasons I’m passionate about this is that there is an extremely good business case to switch from fossil fuel to batteries,” CEO Robert Falck says. Their goals are ambitious. A fleet of 200 windowless and quiet T-Pods will connect the Swedish cities of Gothenburg and Helsingborg (just over 200 kilometers) by 2020, the company hopes.
Among the customers signed-on so far are Lidl, a German food chain, and Schenker, a German logistics company.
Einride’s idea is to use hardware from other manufacturers and concentrate fully on software. “Practically nothing has happened on the hardware side for cars for a hundred years,” Robert Falck says. Without drivers and wages, time will be of less importance than today and the vehicles can be driven at lower speeds at times when there is less traffic.
Among the customers signed-on so far are Lidl, a German food chain, and Schenker, a German logistics company.
Thomson Reuters
Before co-founding Einride with Filip Lilja, Robert Falck worked at Volvo as a manager for engine production in nine factories. Today, he believes that the global vehicle manufacturers will not be the ones to usher in the electric and autonomous revolution in the transport industry.
“They will not give up their business without being forced to,” he says. “They have a sluggishness when it comes to change. But I feel that if it’s something we do not have, it’s time. The industry has been able to change for fifteen years but the will and incentives have been lacking.”
The major players have a vested interest in keeping today’s platforms into the next generation because they have installment plans on their factories, he says. But change is of utmost importance for environmental reasons, the Einride CEO believes.
“Our goal is to push the industry forward in terms of sustainability. That’s why we exist.”
“Imagine the industry without them [electric cars]. Say what you will about Tesla, but they’ve shouldered the responsibility for pushing development and single-handedly shown it’s possible to build and sell electric cars. New challengers are needed,” he says.
In 10-15 years the trucking industry will start to experience a great transformation, Robert Falck believes. “Our ambition by then is to be leading in operating and developing intelligent transport solutions.”