Charger initiates plans to own and operate hundreds of driverless trucks on routes across the country, months after its initial Aurora contract
Aurora Innovation, Inc. (NASDAQ:AUR), the leader in self-driving freight, today 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, underscoring the carrier’s belief that the Aurora Driver will be critical to expanding its network and strengthening its business.
Path to Owning 500 Driverless Trucks
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. In parallel, Aurora benefits from an expected high-margin, capital-efficient, and asset-light business. DaaS agreements are 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, demonstrating both the demand for autonomous trucks at scale and the confidence customers have in Aurora to deliver.