Isuzu Motors Limited will begin autonomous driving demonstrations for business use on public roads for its own parts logistics route starting next January as part of its efforts to launch Level 4 autonomous driving truck and bus business in fiscal 2028 (ending March 31, 2028).
Specifically, newly developed heavy-duty autonomous trucks will be introduced in Isuzu Group’s service parts transport operations between the Iwafune Parts Center (Tochigi, Tochigi) and Chubu Parts Center (Ichinomiya, Aichi) – a route managed by Isuzu Logistics Co., Ltd. The operations will continue until fiscal 2028. Through this demonstration, Isuzu aims to build an optimal autonomous driving logistics model for logistics service providers.
- Background
In its mid-term business plan, ISUZU Transformation – Growth to 2030 (IX), the Isuzu Group outlines its goal of establishing autonomous driving solutions as a new core business. Starting from Japan and North America, the Group is working toward the launch of Level 4 autonomous truck and bus business in fiscal 2028 and accelerate the adoption of autonomous driving technology in society.
The company has previously announced its intention to launch Level 4 autonomous truck operations by the end of fiscal 2028, using the Group’s logistics network for in-house parts connecting Tochigi Prefecture with service parts warehouses in the Chubu and Kansai areas. This demonstration is the first step.
- Overview of demonstration
The business demonstration consists of three stages, from Step 1 to Step 3, which will take place through fiscal 2028. In Step 1, vehicles jointly developed by Applied Intuition, Inc. (headquartered in California, United States; Co-Founder and CEO: Qasar Younis / Co-Founder and CTO: Peter Ludwig; hereinafter “Applied Intuition”) with whom Isuzu concluded a strategic partnership agreement last year, will begin full-scale use from January to next spring 2026.
Automated driving (Level 4 driving assumed)*1 will be carried out on expressways including priority lanes for autonomous driving vehicles of the Shin-Tomei Expressway (Surugawan-Numazu service area to Hamamatsu service area) with a safety driver in the vehicle.
The demonstration intends to accumulate know-how and expertise to realize autonomous logistics through more practical applications such as cargo handling – such as loading and unloading – by Isuzu Logistics, the shipper, in addition to the operation of the autonomous vehicle itself. Based on the results of the demonstration, Steps 2 and 3 will be carried out in fiscal 2027 (ending March 31, 2027) and fiscal 2028, respectively. Step 2 will include the verification of operational efficiency from different perspectives such as logistics hubs, remote monitoring, and emergency dispatch services, along with the feedback of data and insight obtained for the development of autonomous vehicles. After final verification in Step 3, Isuzu aims to launch Level 4 autonomous truck business within fiscal 2028.
- *1“Automated driving (Level 4 driving assumed)” refers to driving based on an autonomous driving system, with a driver continuously monitoring the vehicle’s operating conditions and able to take over at any time.
- Overview of demonstration: Step 1
| Objective | To verify diverse use cases (e.g., driving time, cargo weight, weather conditions) and the roles of personnel supporting autonomous operations (e.g., safety driver, remote monitoring) |
|---|---|
| Demonstration period | January to next spring 2026 |
| Vehicle | GIGA heavy-duty truck 8×4 model with gross vehicle weight (GVW) of 25 tons |
| Vehicle operator | ONETRANS Co., Ltd. (wholly owned subsidiary of Isuzu Logistics) |
| Number of vehicles | 1 |
| Cargo | Isuzu service parts (actual cargo) |
| Site operations / cargo handling | Isuzu Logistics |
| Driving route | Isuzu Logistics Iwafune Parts Center (Tochigi, Tochigi) – Isuzu Logistics Chubu Parts Center (Ichinomiya, Aichi) *Isuzu logistics route for its service parts |
| Interchanges | Sano-Fujioka IC (Tohoku Expressway) – Ichinomiya-Nishi IC (Tokai-Hokuriku Expressway) |
| Autonomous driving section (with safety driver on board) | Surugawan-Numazu service area – Hamamatsu service area of the Shin-Tomei Expressway |
| Driving frequency | Approximately five days a week (future target; round trip within a single day) |
| Driving time | Daytime or nighttime (no time restrictions) |
| Remote monitoring | Verify whether remote monitoring can properly detect abnormalities |
| Emergency dispatch service*2 | Simulate and verify whether appropriate operations can be carried out based on the data gathered by remote monitoring |
*2 No demonstrations will involve stopping the vehicle on public roads, including expressways.
- Newly developed autonomous vehicles
New autonomous vehicles jointly developed with Applied Intuition will be used for the demonstration. The new model has accumulated a total of 150,000 kilometers in the U.S. and Japan since the beginning of this year when the full-scale development began. Based on the GIGA heavy-duty truck, which has a high penetration rate and is particularly used widely for trunk-line transport, the new vehicle incorporates millimeter-wave radar for detecting objects in front and on the sides, LiDAR scanning 360 degrees around the vehicle, sensor capabilities combining cameras, Global Navigation Satellite System (GNSS) providing the geospatial positioning of the vehicle, and inertial measurement unit (IMU) detecting the behavior of the vehicle to secure the level of safety performance for Level 4 autonomous driving.
To cope with more complex traffic environments, end-to-end (E2E) driving currently under development will be introduced in Step 2. A total of 30 autonomous vehicles will be introduced to measure data and analyze driving by the end of fiscal 2027.
Isuzu Group continues to promote vehicle development for the commercialization of autonomous driving technology based on its advanced technological capabilities, safety, and reliability cultivated through years of experience as a commercial vehicle manufacturer and by taking advantage of its nation-wide sales and service networks. It aims to provide autonomous vehicles for a range of customers in the future.
- Future outlook
The logistics industry is expected to experience challenges of reduced transport capacity, increased transport cost and longer delivery lead times, due to the growing shortage of labor and aging of drivers. In line with its purpose Moving the World – for You, the Isuzu Group believes that the role of autonomous driving solutions will play a very important role in addressing these societal challenges.
Toward the launch of Level 4 autonomous truck operations in fiscal 2028, Isuzu will build a flexible in-house logistics model that is not constrained by the labor force limitations of drivers and work to deliver new value to society as rapidly as possible.
