What happened
Shares of PACCAR (PCAR 1.41%) jumped more than 10% as of 3:45 p.m. EST on Thursday. Driving the truck maker's stock was a strategic agreement with automated-driving start-up Aurora Innovation to develop, test, and commercialize autonomous vehicles.
So what
PACCAR will provide autonomous-enabled Peterbilt and Kenworth vehicles to the strategic partnership. Meanwhile, Aurora will provide its industry-leading self-driving technology, Aurora Driver, which includes hardware, software, and operational services. The two partners will collaborate to integrate the Peterbilt and Kenworth vehicles with Aurora Driver.
Image source: Getty Images.
The partners aim to improve these vehicles' freight efficiency and safety on behalf of PACCAR's customers. Over the next several years, they expect to deploy Kenworth T680 and Peterbilt 579 trucks using Aurora Driver in North America. The companies believe this partnership will take them one step closer to the widespread adoption of autonomous trucks to support the freight market, which could speed up the delivery of goods.
Now what
This strategic partnership combines PACCAR's global leadership in making heavy-duty trucks with Aurora's industry-leading autonomous driving technology. Thus, it has the potential to accelerate the adoption of autonomous vehicles in the freight market. That makes this deal one to watch.
