The News
Charger Logistics, a carrier based in Brampton, Ontario, plans to buy up to 500 trucks equipped with the Aurora Driver for delivery over 2027 and 2028, under a non-binding memorandum of understanding Aurora announced. Charger would own the trucks and subscribe to Aurora’s Driver as a Service model once the two sign a final agreement.
“Since launching autonomous operations along the Laredo corridor, we’ve realized immediate operational benefits,” Charger President Andy Khera said in the release.
The deal builds on a contract signed in July for driverless runs between Dallas and Laredo. Aurora says the order may not be finalized, or may be delayed or reduced.
The details
Aurora is changing who owns the trucks. Under its first contracts, Aurora owned and ran the trucks itself. Under the new model, the carrier buys the truck and Aurora is paid for the driving.
Charger’s July contract was a technology-as-a-service deal in which Aurora owns and operates the trucks, according to Trucking Dive.
When Aurora owns the truck, it plans on about 200,000 miles a year at about $2 a mile, fuel surcharge included, according to its investor day presentation. Under Driver as a Service its revenue drops to 85 cents or more a mile, and it plans on about 250,000 miles per truck. Aurora caps the fleet it owns at about 500 trucks.
“Owning the physical asset is the logical choice for our customers,” said Zac Andreoni, Aurora’s vice president of business development.
Charger is the second carrier this year to sign for 500 trucks this way. Hirschbach Motor Lines signed a similar non-binding memorandum in April 2026. Aurora says more customers are lining up behind them.
Hirschbach’s 500 trucks are also due from 2027, on Sun Belt routes that build on its Fort Worth to Phoenix runs, according to Automotive World. CEO Richard Stocking said the Aurora Driver “will handle the lengthier, less desirable routes.”
“Additional Aurora customers are pursuing DaaS contracts to own and operate their own fleets of driverless trucks,” Aurora said in the Charger release.
Aurora expects to end this year with 200 driverless trucks and pass 1,000 by the end of 2027. Its target is 30,000 in 2030.
The pitch to carriers is cost per mile, and the carriers are still checking it. Aurora puts the saving at more than 20% against a truck with one driver. Werner says the numbers don’t close yet.
Aurora President Ossa Fisher said a total cost of ownership analysis shows savings of upward of 20%, or 50 cents a mile, against a solo-driven truck.
Aurora’s driverless trucks on the road today average more than 225,000 miles a year, more than double a conventional truck, the company says. The 200,000 and 250,000 figures above are its planning numbers for each model.
Werner’s Daragh Mahon said the carrier had not finished negotiating with Aurora and that the economics still have a gap, according to FreightWaves. Insurance for driverless trucks currently prices slightly above human-driven ones, said Chris Moore of Apollo.
The first lanes run to the Mexican border. Charger hauls food and beverage, pharmaceutical, automotive and retail freight across the US and Mexico. It plans to put the new trucks on existing and new high-volume routes near the border and across the country.
Charger’s first driverless lane is Dallas to Laredo, on Aurora’s second-generation truck built on the International LT, according to CCJ. Aurora expected daily driverless trips on its new routes in Q4.
Charger ranks No. 171 on CCJ’s Top 250 list of carriers. Neither company disclosed the price of the deal or the size of Charger’s current fleet.
Roush, which builds Aurora’s trucks, is aiming for a run rate of about 1,000 trucks a year.
My notes
Carriers, not Aurora, will own most of the trucks. Aurora caps its own fleet at about 500 trucks, so its 30,000-truck goal depends on carriers like Charger buying them.
Utilization is the pitch. Aurora says its driverless trucks average more than 225,000 miles a year, more than double a conventional truck. The carrier owns the truck and pays Aurora by the mile.
Neither 500-truck deal is final. Hirschbach and Charger together come to about 1,000 trucks. Charger’s deliveries run into 2028, and Aurora’s release says this order can shrink or slip.
The first lane runs to the border. Charger’s first driverless lane is Dallas to Laredo. Hirschbach has said its driverless trucks will take the “lengthier, less desirable routes.”
Not every carrier is convinced. Werner is still negotiating with Aurora and says the economics still have a gap.
The per-mile math is not public yet. Aurora puts its fee at 85 cents or more a mile. Charger hasn’t said what that replaces on the Laredo run.
What’s next
Deliveries would run through 2027 and 2028 once Charger and Aurora sign a final agreement. Neither has given a date for it. Aurora expects to end this year with 200 driverless trucks on the road.
