MAN tests first self-driving truck on German autobahn
By Bradley Osborne - 6th May 2024
MAN self-driving truck on the autobahn
Germany – MAN Truck & Bus SE, a subsidiary of the Traton Group based in Munich, Bavaria, became the first commercial vehicle manufacturer to deploy a self-driving truck on a German motorway, after the government permitted the company to test its Level 4 autonomous driving technology.
On 18 April, MAN put a test truck on the A9 autobahn between the Allershausen and Fürholzen junctions in the state of Bavaria. (The A9 or Bundesautobahn 9 is the main road connecting Berlin and Munich via Nuremburg.) The truck covered the ten-kilometre-long route whilst being driven by a Level 4 autonomous technology developed in-house. The Level 4 test permit granted to MAN follows the German law on autonomous driving, which requires a human driver onboard to take over if necessary.
