Aurora Signs Nonbinding MOU With Charger Logistics for Up to 500 Driverless Trucks

Aurora Innovation signed a nonbinding memorandum of understanding Monday under which Charger Logistics intends to buy up to 500 Aurora Driver-powered trucks, with deliveries in 2027 and 2028. The deal supports Aurora's plan to operate more than 30,000 driverless trucks by 2030. Under the Driver as a Service model, Charger would own the trucks and pay Aurora for the driving, yielding Aurora 85 cents or more per mile on trucks expected to run about 250,000 miles annually. Aurora's third-quarter shareholder letter called the arrangement "a potential multi-year revenue stream in the hundreds of millions of dollars." Neither company disclosed Charger's per-mile rate. Aurora now expects to pass 200 driverless trucks by the end of February, with its production ramp about six weeks behind plan. It still targets more than 1,000 by the end of 2027. Aurora cautioned the MOU may not lead to binding orders "on the anticipated timeframe or at all."