A partially self driving Uber semi truck at the Mcity autonomous vehicle testing facility in Ann Arbor Michigan, US, September 12, 2017.
PHOTO: REUTERS
Uber will stop developing self-driving trucks that have been hauling cargo on US highways, the ride-hailing company said on Monday, seeking to focus its autonomous-vehicle technology solely on cars.
Through its acquisition of Otto in 2016, Uber had sought to disrupt freight hauling with self-driving trucks and Uber Freight, its smartphone app that connects truck drivers and shippers.
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Uber Freight, which has seen “rapid” growth, is unaffected by the decision, the company said.
Trucking has been viewed by transportation experts as a natural application for self-driving technology because of the relative predictability of highways compared with busy city streets.
Uber had unveiled plans earlier this year to integrate manual trucking with self-driving trucks by deploying the former for short hauls and the latter for longer distances.
“We believe having our entire team’s energy and expertise focused on (self-driving cars) is the best path forward,” Eric Meyhofer, head of Uber Advanced Technologies Group, said in an emailed statement.
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San Francisco-based Uber faces competition from Silicon Valley companies including Tesla and Alphabet’s Waymo as well as traditional automakers such as Ford and General Motors in the race to bring self-driving cars to the market.
Uber said it will move employees working on self-driving trucks to other internal roles within autonomous vehicle development.
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