Ashok Leyland, the flagship company of the Hinduja Group, announced on Tuesday a strategic partnership with Minus Zero aimed at developing customized autonomous trucking solutions within India.
Minus Zero, headquartered in Bengaluru, is a startup specializing in autonomous driving technology. This collaboration seeks to revolutionize commercial trucking by implementing autonomous solutions on a large scale.
Initially, the focus will be on creating autonomous trucking solutions tailored for ports, factory operations, and corporate campuses, according to a statement from the heavy commercial vehicle manufacturer based in the city.
As global regulations and infrastructure progress to support autonomous driving, the alliance may expand to offer joint product offerings in international markets.
N Saravanan, Chief Technology Officer of Ashok Leyland, expressed, “Ashok Leyland has been exploring avenues to streamline logistics costs in India in alignment with the Government’s National Logistics Policy. We believe autonomous driving can play a role in specific sectors to achieve this goal, and we have been collaborating with innovative startups in this field.”
He further added, “We were impressed by Minus Zero’s capabilities and plans, and we are thrilled to collaborate with them to develop solutions tailored for India that can be scaled globally.”
The partnership also encompasses hub-to-hub applications and long-haul trucking, contingent upon the evolving regulatory landscape surrounding autonomous driving.
Gagandeep Reehal, CEO and Co-Founder of Minus Zero, stated, “We are excited to embark on this journey of accelerating autonomous driving in India and globally through our partnership with Ashok Leyland. With our AI inspired by nature, we aim to bring about a fundamental shift by constructing Foundational AI models for autonomous driving.”
“This collaboration signifies the commencement of India’s autonomous driving narrative,” he concluded.
