Aurora plans to have more than 30,000 driverless trucks operating by 2030, up from 200 trucks this year, the company said at its analyst and investor day in Dallas last week. Aurora had about 20 trucks on the road the week of the event, per CNBC.
The company expects to pass 1,000 trucks by the end of 2027. Its 2030 plan calls for more than $5 billion in annual revenue and a gross margin of about 60%, according to an SEC filing. Aurora expects to reach breakeven gross margin at about 500 trucks in the first half of 2027.
Aurora offers two models for carriers. Under Transport as a Service, Aurora operates the trucks and sells the capacity. Under Driver as a Service, carriers own and operate the trucks and pay for Aurora’s driver software. Hirschbach plans to operate 500 trucks under the second model, with deliveries starting in 2027 under a nonbinding agreement, reports FreightWaves.
Aurora says its trucks have logged more than 500,000 driverless miles since commercial launch and average more than 225,000 miles a year each. Werner is still assessing the economics. CIO Daragh Mahon said the company needs to close a cost gap before autonomy becomes viable at scale.
Volvo Autonomous Solutions is hauling freight with Aurora on the Dallas-Houston lane and targets driverless runs in the first quarter of 2027. Roush, which upfits International trucks for Aurora, is targeting 20 trucks a week in October.
California still requires a safety driver. Kodiak began hauling produce from Fresno to Los Angeles last week under the state’s new heavy-duty testing permit.
