Daimler Trucks and Waymo have signed a global strategic partnership to deploy autonomous driving technology.

Initially they will combine Waymo's tech with a unique version of Daimler's Freightliner Cascadia, to enable autonomous driving.

The autonomous truck, equipped with the Waymo Driver, will be available to customers in the US in “the coming years”, according to a statement. Waymo and Daimler Trucks will investigate expansion to other markets and brands in the near future.

The new partnership is part of Daimler Trucks’ dual strategy approach, working with two different partners to deliver autonomous solutions that are seamlessly integrated into its vehicles.

In April last year, Daimler Trucks acquired a majority stake in Torc Robotics, with the aim of combining Torc’s agile self-drive software with its existing truck hardware.

Roger Nielsen, president and chief executive of Daimler Trucks North America, commented: “We are pushing engineering solutions that strive above all to increase safety and help our customers improve business efficiencies.

“Based on our collaboration with Waymo, we will be in the unique position to be able to provide our fleet customers with a choice among the best solutions for their individual requirements.”

Since Waymo’s start in the Google Self-Driving Car Project in 2009, it has been focused on improving the world's access to mobility, while saving thousands of lives now lost to traffic crashes. To date, the company has driven over 20 million miles autonomously on public roads across 25 US cities and over 15 billion miles in simulation.

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