Isuzu Motors Limited (headquartered in Yokohama, Kanagawa, Japan; President and COO: Shinsuke Minami; hereinafter “Isuzu”) and Gatik AI, Inc. (headquartered in California, United States; CEO: Gautam Narang; hereinafter “Gatik”) have agreed to further enhance the development of the North American autonomous driving business. Isuzu will invest US$30 million in Gatik, forging a strong partnership between the two companies in the pursuit of realizing mobility services based on level 4 autonomous driving.
The agreement between Isuzu and Gatik is focused on the development of middle mile autonomous driving and will include the design and development of a new chassis (redundant chassis) that ensures safety when equipped with an autonomous driving system. In April 2024, as part of its mid-term business plan, “ISUZU Transformation – Growth to 2030 (IX)”, Isuzu committed to the establishment of three new business pillars for the future: (1) autonomous driving solutions, (2) connected services, and (3) carbon neutral solutions. In an effort to develop autonomous driving solutions, Isuzu has partnered with Gatik with the aim of launching a level 4 autonomous commercial vehicle business in 2027.
Gatik is the only company that provides autonomous middle mile1 logistics services in North America, using Class 3-72 autonomous driving trucks to deliver goods safely and efficiently. The company is particularly focused on middle mile B2B3 logistics for large companies, and in 2021 it also successfully completed fully driverless commercial middle mile deliveries. Gatik’s Class 3-7 autonomous driving trucks are currently commercially deployed in Texas, Arkansas (United States), and Ontario (Canada).
Through this partnership, Isuzu will enter the middle mile autonomous driving business in the LCF4 segment, where the company has already established a market leadership position in the United States and Canada. This advanced technology will also allow Isuzu to actively address pressing issues facing the industry, such as the worsening driver shortage and rapidly increasing delivery needs in North America. Moreover, the two companies will jointly design and develop a new chassis with safety performance that is compatible with the installation of an autonomous driving system with the aim of starting mass production in 2027.
Through this collaboration, Isuzu and Gatik are committed to leading innovation in the area of middle mile autonomous driving in North America and providing new value in transportation for the betterment of society.
1 middle mile: medium-distance and intermediate logistics that connect individual distribution centers and stores.
2 Trucks in the United States are classified by gross vehicle weight (GVW), and classes 3 to 7 correspond to light to medium-duty trucks in Japan.
3 B2B: Business to Business
4 LCF: Low Cab Forward Truck
SOURCE: Isuzu
