A dozen WiFi-connected trucks from Volvo and Daimler completed an autonomous trip across Europe, driving in a tight “platoon” to improve fuel efficiency, safety
A fleet of trucks just drove themselves across Europe — About a dozen trucks from major manufacturers like Volvo …
Context & Ripple Effects
This 2016 crossing was the proof-of-concept moment for connected trucking: a dozen WiFi-linked Volvo and Daimler trucks driving in close formation to cut fuel burn and improve safety, before either manufacturer had an autonomy product to sell. It established platooning as the entry point to automated freight.
The arc since then runs through Tesla's road-tested platooning semi, the Army's convoy program, and finally the split into two manufacturer-plus-startup camps: Volvo's partnership with Aurora for hub-to-hub autonomous semis and Daimler's tie-up with Waymo. The 2016 demo is the common ancestor of both.
First-order effects
- Volvo and Daimler walk away from the crossing with validated evidence that tight wireless platooning delivers fuel savings and safety gains — the business case that justified their subsequent autonomy investments.
Second-order effects
- The demo pushed rivals onto the same path: Tesla began testing platoon-capable self-driving tech in its long-haul semi, and the US Army started building driverless convoy trucks, turning platooning from a European experiment into a competitive requirement.
Third-order effects
- If the pattern holds, platooning matures into fully driverless hub-to-hub freight — Volvo now ships the VNL Autonomous with Aurora targeting commercial hauling, while Daimler builds with Waymo — restructuring long-haul trucking around manufacturer-autonomy-startup pairs rather than owner-operated rigs.
The trend: Truck automation is evolving from cooperative platooning demos like this 2016 European crossing toward fully driverless freight corridors run by paired manufacturers and autonomy startups.