SOFTWARE-DEFINED VEHICLES OFFER NEW POSSIBILITIES IN FLEET UPTIME AND EFFICIENCY

By Cristina Commendatore, chief editor and content manager, Communications and Brand

The digital revolution of commercial vehicles is closer than you think.

Every day, new innovations in electronics, artificial intelligence (AI), and data collection and analysis continue to advance. The key is leveraging these advancements to help fleets improve safety, uptime, total cost of ownership (TCO), and driver experience. The constantly evolving landscape also builds momentum around strategic partnerships between forward-thinking original equipment manufacturers (OEMs) and software providers.

As part of the TRATON GROUP, International, along with Scania and MAN, have partnered with Plus to accelerate the use of autonomous trucks in logistics and the entire Group has partnered with Applied Intuition to industrialize software-defined vehicles (SDVs) at scale. SDVs utilize centralized computing systems, AI-powered tooling and over-the-air (OTA) updates to enable new features, optimize performance, and improve the overall driving experience.

At the 2025 Advanced Clean Transportation (ACT) Expo, executives from TRATON, International, Plus and Applied Intuition discussed their strategic partnerships and how they see new innovations redefining standards around fleet efficiency.

“At TRATON, we don’t just do this for creativity; it’s about creating customer value,” explained Catharina Modahl Nilsson, member of the Executive Board of TRATON SE, responsible for Product Management, TRATON GROUP. “We always put the customer first, and we believe that our partnerships will allow us to bring products and functions to the market faster.” 

From where member of the Executive Board of TRATON SE, International President and CEO Mathias Carlbaum sits, autonomous, connected and zero-emissions technologies offer opportunities of growth for the safe and sustainable transport of goods on the roads. While sustainable transport is often alluded to as mostly environmental impact, equally important are economic sustainability, safety and return on investment (ROI).

It’s not a pipe dream of the future. Today, software-defined and digitally enabled fleets can recognize ROI and TCO through improved maintenance costs and proactive planning. Over time, more predictive, data-driven capabilities will only further enhance fleet operations and improve bottom lines.

“We see clear cases already in predictive maintenance and what we can do,” Carlbaum said. “Then, more autonomous capabilities will enhance opportunities when it comes to safety and fuel consumption.” 

SDVs will also add logistics-functionality improvements and eliminate risks and costs tied to software recalls through regular OTA updates. These are just some of the advancements paving the way for scalable autonomous operations across major freight hubs.

Today, TRATON is already selling autonomous vehicles for confined areas, Modahl Nilsson explained, pointing to customers in Australia who use this technology in open-pit mining applications. These confined areas of operation make it more practical from regulatory and social standpoints to put these autonomous applications to work in the current environment. 

“With TRATON, International and Plus, we are now going to take it to the next step —on-highway, hub to hub,” Modahl Nilsson said. “This is something that we believe is possible to do here in the United States, and the U.S. will come before Europe.”

As Plus and TRATON continue to charter where to focus Level 4 autonomous trucking efforts, all fingers currently point to warehouse-to-warehouse transport along some of the heaviest freight routes. Today, International and Plus are conducting customer pilots of autonomous trucks in Texas before ramping up across the sunbelt region and then expanding nationally.

Carlbaum expects to see growth in the number of autonomous pilots and fleets testing the technology in the second half of 2025.

“In the U.S. market, there is an alliance for driver safety and security working through what capabilities we can enhance today that would support safety in the very short term,” Carlbaum said. “It will take many steps, but at a pace that we would never have guessed two years ago.”

As we move forward, everyone in the ecosystem — from OEMs and software providers to fleets, legislators and regulators — has a role to play.

“We’re all testing it out and slowly getting our feet wet,” Carlbaum said. “We have to do it together.”  

For all TRATON brands, Modahl Nilsson is focused on strategic product planning for the longer term, with the understanding that software-defined vehicles and AI will experience exponential growth in the coming years.

“That is something that we have to be prepared for,” she said. “Coming back to what Mathias said, it is important for us all to dare to try new technologies.” 

TRATON also remains committed to investing in zero-emissions technologies for a more sustainable future. When asked what she believes the transportation industry will look like in 20 years, Modahl Nilsson said it will be autonomous, connected, and electric. 

For Carlbaum, his long-term vision for the U.S. market is zero accidents and zero emissions. “Clean technology is an evolution,” he said. “Digitalization is a revolution.”