TuSimple and Navistar finish deal to co-develop autonomous vehicles • TechCrunch

Autonomous trucking expertise firm TuSimple and truck producer Navistar have scrapped their deal to co-develop self-driving vehicles, the businesses mentioned Monday. Neither firm offered a motive for ending the partnership.

Two years in the past, TuSimple and Navistar had agreed to collectively develop and produce purpose-built autonomous semi vehicles by 2024; this is able to be a transfer away from retrofitting current vehicles with autonomous sensors and expertise. Navistar purchased an undisclosed stake in TuSimple on the time.

TuSimple has acquired near 7,000 reservations for its Navistar vehicles with clients like DHL Provide Chain, Schneider and U.S. Xpress. It’s not clear if any of these orders will likely be fulfilled now. Neither firm responded to TechCrunch for remark, however an announcement from the businesses states, “The choice to finish the event settlement doesn’t preclude the businesses from working collectively sooner or later.”

TuSimple acknowledged in October that it plans to attain commercialization in 2023.

The transfer to finish the partnership comes lower than a month after Cheng Lu returned to his position as CEO of TuSimple after beforehand being ousted. The return of Lu got here days after the corporate fired his predecessor following an inside probe that confirmed sure workers having ties and sharing info with Hydron, a China-backed hydrogen-powered trucking firm.