Last fall, at the IAA Commercial Vehicle Show in Hannover, Germany, Daimler Truck and Bus head Martin Daum sent Shockwaves through the trucking industry when he announced that Daimler wasn't seeing good fuel economy results in platooning trials with new trucks and highly advanced aerodynamic systems. Daum doubled down on his comments at the CES Show in Las Vegas earlier this year, announcing that Daimler would forgo any future work on truck platooning and instead focus on autonomous vehicle systems. My first thought when I heard these announcements was of Peloton Technology, the Mountain View, California, tech company that has staked out a position as a leading developer of truck platooning systems. Based on reports of their work - as well as Daimlers own initial assessments, it should be noted - truck platooning sounded highly promising for both fuel economy and safety benefits. I'd even gone so far to suggest that many Americans' first real-world exposure to autonomous trucks would be platooning.
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