Ashok Leyland has established a strategic relationship with Minus Zero, a Bengaluru-based autonomous driving technology business that debuted its zPod prototype in June 2023. The alliance between the two organisations intends to transform commercial trucking by deploying autonomous solutions on a large scale.
The primary goal of this collaboration will be to provide bespoke autonomous trucking solutions for ports, manufacturing operations, and corporate campuses. Future plans include extending into hub-to-hub applications and long-haul trucks, subject to changing legal frameworks governing autonomous driving.
Unlike many autonomous vehicles, Minus Zero’s zPod does not employ LIDAR (light detection and ranging) but instead uses an array of six cameras—four on the sides and two at the front and back.
At the core of this alliance is the seamless integration of Minus Zero’s industry-first autonomous driving platform, leveraging its nature-inspired AI technology, into Ashok Leyland’s fleet of commercial vehicles. Leveraging Ashok Leyland’s product portfolio and safety standards alongside Minus Zero’s expertise in self-driving technology, the collaboration aims for the safe and scalable adoption of autonomous driving in commercial vehicles.
With global regulations and infrastructure evolving to support autonomous driving, this collaboration can extend to offering joint product offerings to international markets.
N Saravanan, Chief Technology Officer, Ashok Leyland, said, “Ashok Leyland has been looking for ways to reduce the cost of logistics in India in line with the government’s National Logistics Policy. We see a role for autonomous driving in select sectors in achieving this, and we have been partnering with pioneering startups in this area. Minus Zero’s capabilities and plans impressed us, and we are excited to be working with them to develop India-specific solutions that can be scaled globally. We see spin-off benefits in developing cost-effective active safety solutions to reduce road accidents.”
Gagandeep Reehal, CEO and co-founder of Minus Zero, said, “Ashok Leyland brings decades of experience in delivering high-quality products at scale, and we’re excited to partner with them in this journey of accelerating autonomous driving in India and globally. With our nature-inspired AI, we are bringing about a paradigm shift by building foundational AI models for autonomous driving. This partnership marks the beginning of India’s autonomous driving story.”