Solo Advanced Vehicle Technologies (Solo AVT), a US vehicle hardware company, has revealed the design and specifications of the SD1, its new long-haul battery-electric Class 8 truck tailored specifically for autonomous driving. The long-haul battery-electric SD1 features a range of 500+ miles, active aerodynamics, tires designed to minimise rolling resistance, exterior lighting to communicate to pedestrians and other road users, plus a unique sound signature.
The truck is is also trailer-agnostic – meaning it can haul anything – and is built to integrate with all standard loading docks, and can haul an equivalent weight to today’s Class 8 trucks.
The sensor arrangement allows for the easy integration of any autonomous driver system and features a proprietary software control interface.
Graham Doorley, Founder and CEO, Solo Advanced Vehicle Technologies, says: “The debut of our SD1 design is the next step in our journey towards decarbonizing the freight industry. We look forward to being the step change this massive industry needs as we develop innovative technologies to deliver a battery-electric long-haul Class 8 truck with over 500 miles of range. The demands on leaders across freight, logistics, retail, and other categories can only be met in a sustainable way by the convergence of two tech-enabled opportunities: battery-electric transportation at long-haul range and autonomy.”
He adds: “Autonomous systems today won’t work on existing or retrofit platforms at scale. At Solo AVT we’re solving both of these challenges as we develop, design, and engineer the SD1 to achieve over 500 miles of range with an autonomous truck from day one.”
Built by former executives from Waymo, Tesla, BMW, Ford, and Faraday Futures, and backed by leading investors including Trucks VC, Maniv Mobility, and Wireframe Ventures, Solo AVT is the only company developing a dedicated, completely autonomous heavy truck platform for the future of freight.
Keyword: Solo AVT Debuts the SD1, Its Battery-Electric Truck with 500+ Miles of Range