Daimler Truck is targeting a major autonomous trucking milestone in North America this year, with Torc, its autonomous driving subsidiary, aiming to operate a truck on public roads without a safety driver in the cab before the end of 2026.
Torc develops autonomous driving technology for heavy-duty trucks and is at the centre of Daimler Truck’s push towards commercialising autonomous freight transportation in North America. If the 2026 driver-out milestone progresses as planned, Daimler Truck expects to begin moving its first commercial freight using autonomous trucks in 2027, followed by scaling from 2028.
“For the first time, the truck will be able to drive itself on public roads, not on a test track, and without a safety driver in the cab,” Daimler Truck CEO Karin Rådström said.
Daimler Truck is concentrating its autonomous trucking push on North America, where it sees a stronger business case for the technology. According to Rådström, trucks in the US typically travel more than twice the distance every day compared with trucks in Europe, while driver shortages are also more acute.
The company’s autonomous strategy brings together Daimler Truck North America and Torc. Daimler Truck North America is developing the autonomous-ready truck platform, including redundancy for critical systems such as steering and braking, while Torc is developing the virtual driver software intended to operate the truck safely and efficiently.
Daimler Truck says this combination differentiates its approach from other players because it is developing the autonomous trucking system across the truck platform, vehicle architecture, hardware integration and autonomous driving software.
The 2026 driver-out target is a key step towards commercialisation. Unlike autonomous testing with a safety driver ready to take control, the planned milestone would see the truck operate on public roads without a safety driver in the cab.
The autonomous programme forms part of Daimler Truck’s Stronger 2030 strategy, with autonomous driving identified alongside next-generation vehicle software as an important area of investment.
North America also gives Daimler Truck an established heavy-duty truck base from which to pursue autonomous operations. Its Freightliner brand held a 37% share of the North American Class 8 heavy-duty truck market in the first half of 2026, according to the company.
The next two years will be critical for the programme. Daimler Truck is targeting driver-out operation on public roads before the end of 2026, its first commercial autonomous freight in 2027 and the beginning of scale-up in 2028.