Nick Carey

LONDON (Reuters] – Einride, a Swedish startup that produces electric vehicles for self-driving cars, said Wednesday that they have launched American operations. They also signed up Oatly (NASDAQ), GE Appliances and Bridgestone tires as customers.

At the Louisville headquarters, GE Appliances (a division of Chinese manufacturer Haier), the company already operates a fleet consisting of 20 Einride Pods – an electric self-driving vehicle without a driver’s cabin – which is operated by the company.

Robert Falck, Einride’s chief executive said that the trucks will be operated within customers’ premises for the time being. This allows the truck to run without the assistance of a human driver since they operate on private property.

Company is in talks with U.S. regulators about “taking this beyond the fence” and operating on public roads.

He stated that there is a lot of potential in automation and electrification within the U.S. Market and that the next step was to work with customers.

Swedish start-ups have raised $150m from investors. A $110 million round was announced in May.

Electrolux and Coca-Cola are among Einride’s European clients.

Investors are interested in self-driving freight truck technology because it is easier and more affordable to use than robotaxis and auto-driving cars, and offers a better path to profitability.

Service for self-driving freight transport runs along predetermined routes. This is usually on major highways, without pedestrian crossings. However, this requires less mapping that a service to shuttle customers between randomly placed points on robotaxis.

Einride stated that its remote truck driver has been hired by Einride. This allows Einride to take control of an autonomous truck in situations that need human interaction and human decision-making abilities.

The United States will host the first driver.