2022年11月20日

瑞典初创公司Einride成立于2016年，其使命是实现货运电气化。如今，这意味着要设计电动卡车和底层操作系统，以帮助陆路货运商向电动转型。在未来，这将意味着部署电动自动货运——更具体地说，是Einride的自动舱，它是专门为自动驾驶而建造的，不能容纳人类司机。Einride的创始人兼首席执行官罗伯特·法尔克一年前告诉科技博客TechCrunch，在沃尔沃GTO Powertrain花了多年时间制造重型柴油卡车之后，他觉得自己有义务创造一种更环保的货运模式。最重要的是，他认为有必要最终实现长途卡车运输的自动化。法尔克是一个连续创业家，他决定不走许多自动驾驶卡车公司的路线——坚持追求自动驾驶技术，即使这意味着在柴油汽车上安装传感器和软件。相反，法尔克选择了两步走的方式将Einride推向市场。第一种是与OEM合作伙伴合作生产电动卡车，并与托运人合作部署这些卡车并赚取收入。这些收入会回到公司的第二步，也就是自主系统的开发。当Einride准备将自动驾驶吊舱推向市场时，理想情况下，它应该已经有了一系列商业运输合作伙伴。 Einride’s current shipping clients across Sweden and the U.S. include Oatly, Bridgestone, Maersk and Beyond Meat. The company said it clears close to 20,000 shipments per day. Over the past few months, Einride has completed a public road pilot of its electric, autonomous pod in Tennessee with GE Appliances, launched its electric trucks in Germany in partnership with home appliance giant Electrolux, announced plans to build a network of freight charging stations in Sweden and Los Angeles, and introduced its second-generation autonomous pod. We sat down with Falck a year after our initial interview with him to talk about the challenges of reaching autonomy when connectivity on the roads is lacking, why the Big Tech crashes are actually healthy for the industry and what consolidation looks like for autonomous driving. The following interview, part of an ongoing series with founders who are building transportation companies, has been edited for length and clarity.