Autonomous solutions: Bridgestone becomes Einride’s US tyre supplier

Tests of self-driving trucks on public roads have been taking place in the USA for several years now, and Bridgestone Americas is partnering in a number of projects. Following on from its investments in Kodiak Robotics and Azuga, the company has announced a partnership with Swedish electric and autonomous freight mobility solutions company Einride. Bridgestone says this partnership aims to co-create “innovative and sustainable mobility solutions for electrified and autonomous Class 8 vehicles.”

The collaboration will allow Einride to collect safety and efficiency-related data from Bridgestone’s smart-sensing tyres, while enabling Bridgestone to integrate its mobility technologies into Einride’s onboard vehicle platforms. As part of the agreement, Bridgestone will become the official US launch partner of Einride and the firm’s exclusive tyre supplier in that market. In turn, Einride will supply Bridgestone’s US logistics network with connected electric trucks and digital services under a subscription agreement. The first of these trucks will be deployed to transport Bridgestone tyre inventory between two company facilities in Tennessee, the LaVergne truck tyre plant and Lebanon distribution centre.

“We are incredibly excited about this partnership and the opportunity to accelerate our shared goal of creating innovative solutions for fleets while advancing the transformation of Bridgestone into a sustainable solutions company,” said Nizar Trigui, chief technology officer of Bridgestone Americas and group president of the firm’s Solutions Businesses. “There is a very high ceiling for innovation within this relationship, including the use of vehicle and tyre data and advanced analytics to drive efficiency, safety and low-carbon fleet mobility.”

A great match

Bridgestone aims to achieve a 50 per cent reduction of its carbon footprint globally by 2030 and carbon neutrality by 2050, and produce tyres made from 100 per cent renewable materials by this latter date. The company’s current portfolio of technologies and business solutions for safer, more efficient, and sustainable mobility, include Webfleet Solutions, IntelliTire telematics, and REACH streamlined service delivery for fleets.

“Partnering with Bridgestone is a great match for us both from a commercial and technical standpoint,” said Niklas Reinedahl, general manager, Einride North America. “We have an ambitious business plan for electric and autonomous transportation in the US as well as innovative plans to improve our capabilities by leveraging tyre-as-a-sensor technology and insights derived from the tyre telematics data.”