Sweden’s transport agency Transportstyrelsen has given the Swedish manufacturer Scania the go-ahead to “expand the route and range of its autonomous vehicle testing on the nation’s roads”.
The extension involves all local and national roads between Scania’s headquarters in Södertälje near Stockholm and the city of Jönköping to the south-east.
The two cities are almost 300 kilometres apart, and depending on the success of the testing phase, could pave the way for autonomous driving possibilities linking Sweden’s capital on the Baltic Sea with Gothenburg, the country’s biggest port on the North Sea.
Scania said it had been exploring this technology for the best part of the last decade, including in mining and delivery applications.
“It’s great to have the transport authority’s backing for the three autonomous trucks to drive Scania goods on all categories of roads between Södertälje and Jönköping,” said Peter Hafmar, Scania’s vice-president and head of autonomous solutions.
“The legislation is helping, not hindering us, and this is a big step forward for us and our work with this technology.”
