German technology supplier AUMOVIO and self-driving developer Aurora Innovation have set a target for bringing an autonomous trucking system to American highways, the companies announced ahead of September’s IAA Transportation trade show in Hanover, Germany.
The system pairs Aurora’s self-driving software, known as the Aurora Driver, with a hardware kit built by AUMOVIO that includes radar and camera sensors, high-performance computers, control units for automated driving, telematics units, and a redundant fallback system.
What the Two Companies Are Building
AUMOVIO describes its role as handling system integration, industrialization, and production at automotive scale, while Aurora supplies the driving system and its fallback safety layer. According to the companies, the goal is a design that can be manufactured at commercial volume rather than built one vehicle at a time, which is a distinction from earlier autonomous truck prototypes that were assembled in smaller numbers for testing.
AUMOVIO is a spin-off from Continental’s former Automotive group, which became an independent company in September 2025. It reported €18.5 billion in sales for fiscal year 2025 and employs roughly 82,000 people across more than 80 locations worldwide.
Intended Use: Hub-to-Hub Freight
The companies describe the system as intended for hub-to-hub operation, meaning longer interstate stretches between distribution centers, rather than the local pickup, delivery, and dock maneuvering that make up a significant share of trucking work. Aurora has previously operated driver-out routes in Texas as part of its ongoing development and testing.
Additional technical details are expected to be presented at AUMOVIO’s virtual “TechTalk IAA Transportation” briefing on August 28, and at the company’s booth during the Hanover show in September.
Aurora already runs driverless trucks in small quantities in a few states. The companies are targeting 2027 as the year they will begin mass-production of their third-generation hardware kit.
Context for Alabama’s Freight Network
Alabama has had a legal framework for automated trucking on its books for several years. In 2018, the state enacted legislation permitting truck platooning, allowing groups of commercial trucks to travel with electronically coordinated speed and braking systems, according to Heninger Garrison Davis. In 2019, Alabama went further, passing a law, codified at Alabama Code § 32-9B-3, that permits automated commercial motor vehicles to operate on public roads without a conventional driver present, provided the vehicle meets applicable federal safety standards, is properly registered and titled in the state, and carries at least $2 million in liability insurance.
Despite that legal framework, no autonomous trucking company currently operates driverless trucks on Alabama roads.
Aurora Innovation, the company partnering with AUMOVIO on the system described above, currently runs its driverless commercial routes in Texas, New Mexico, and Arizona.
Alabama lawmakers also took up the issue of automated trucking during the 2026 legislative session. SB222, sponsored by Sen. Gerald Allen, R-Cottondale, would have required a human driver on board for any truck hauling an oversized or overweight load operating under a special permit. The bill passed the Senate 33-0 in February 2026 but stalled in the House, according to the Alabama Reflector and LegiScan, and it did not become law before the session ended.
