Aurora Innovation, Inc. announced a memorandum of understanding (MOU) with Charger Logistics under which Charger intends to purchase up to 500 Aurora Driver-powered trucks. The agreement builds upon Charger’s existing contract signed in July.
“Since launching autonomous operations along the Laredo corridor, we’ve realized immediate operational benefits that point to a clear path to scaling,” Charger Logistics President Andy Khera said. “Aurora’s plans to open long-haul, high-volume routes position us to scale geographically while we integrate autonomy from our TMS to the road."
Charger Logistics operates across the U.S. and Mexico, moving goods for the food and beverage, pharmaceutical, automotive and retail industries. Under the non-binding MOU, the carrier would purchase 500 Aurora Driver-powered trucks with delivery taking place over 2027 and 2028. Charger plans to deploy the trucks on current and new high-volume routes near the border and throughout the country.
Upon the final agreement, Charger intends to subscribe to Aurora’s Driver as a Service (DaaS) model, where ownership over the physical asset allows them to maximize Total Cost of Ownership (TCO) savings. DaaS agreements serve as a critical component to Aurora’s plan to scale to 30,000 driverless trucks in 2030. Additional Aurora customers are pursuing DaaS contracts to own and operate their own fleets of driverless trucks.
“With the launch of our second-generation hardware and trucks, Aurora is ready to support our customers' ambitions to grow their networks and move more freight with driverless trucks,” Aurora Vice President of Business Development Zac Andreoni said.
