The Goodyear Tire & Rubber Company GT recently teamed up with Plus, a global provider of autonomous truck technology solution. The partnership aims to provide efficient self-driving trucking solutions that would steer the transformation of the logistics industry.
Headquartered in Silicon Valley, Plus has a goal to be a leading self-driving truck company that makes long-haul trucking safer, affordable, more comfortable and environment friendly.
Both companies are highly optimistic about the partnership. This collaboration will help pair Goodyear’s array of services, including connected tires, with Plus’ Level 4 autonomous driving technology to further enhance transportation efficiency and safety for semi-trucks, while also reducing carbon emissions.
Together, both companies will explore ways in which Plus’ autonomous driving system can inculcate feedback from Goodyear’s connected tires into Plus’ online, machine learning-based fuel economy efficiency to further optimize fuel use.
Coupling Goodyear’s intelligent tires with Plus’ cutting-edge autonomous driving system will also boost a vehicle’s overall performance in extreme weather and rugged road conditions. With its dominant position in the global tire industry, Goodyear is thrilled to drive the revolution in the logistics industry along with Plus.
For Plus, the partnership with Goodyear enables it to leverage both companies’ state-of-the-art fuel efficiency technologies and use the same to further enhance the performance of autonomous big rigs.
In April, Plus also partnered with engine manufacturer Cummins CMI for developing natural gas-powered automated trucks. Also, global vehicle manufacturer Iveco signed a memorandum of understanding with Plus to jointly develop autonomous trucks. Both these partnerships aspire to bring autonomous trucks powered by natural gas in the markets by 2022.
Plus is also installing its automated driving system — PlusDrive — on existing trucks or as an upfit option on new trucks. PlusDrive will also power the flagship product of the world’s largest heavy truck maker, FAW, starting with the mass production of the FAW J7L3 in the third quarter of 2021.
Goodyear is one of the largest tire manufacturing companies in the world, selling under Goodyear, Kelly, Dunlop, Fulda, Debica, Sava and various other brands. It has secured a leadership position in electric mobility through developing tires that will help them transform their portfolios to more energy efficient and eco-friendly vehicles.
In June, Goodyear completed the acquisition of Cooper Tire, thereby strengthening its leadership position in the global tire industry. This historic deal marked the collaboration of two of the biggest American tire companies. Recently, Goodyear’s venture capital arm — Goodyear Ventures — invested in AmpUp, a leader in electric vehicle (EV) charging. The investment in AmpUp will give Goodyear Ventures access to the latest electrification trends and bring their charging solutions to fleet customers who want to transit to electric vehicles.
Akron-based Goodyear currently carries a Zacks Rank of 3 (Hold).
Better-ranked stocks in the auto space include LKQ Corporation LKQ and Harley-Davidson HOG. While LKQ Corp currently flaunts a Zacks Rank of 1 (Strong Buy), Harley-Davidson carries a Zacks Rank of 2 (Buy), at present. You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank stocks here.
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