Plus (formerly Plus.ai), an autonomous truck manufacturer, and IVECO, an Italian multinational transport vehicle manufacturing company, have started public road testing of an IVECO S-Way truck equipped with PlusDrive in Germany, the Plus' Level 2 driver-assist solution (Level 2 refers vehicles that can control both the speed and the steering, but they require a safety driver to oversee the operation).

The companies have already conducted extensive closed-course testing, validation of public road data, in-depth training for test drivers, and functional safety testing by global third-party technical inspection certificate provider TUV SUD for public road testing.

The companies plan to continue public road testing in Germany throughout the coming months and expand to Austria, France, Italy, and Switzerland to collect real-world data that relate to diverse roadways and driving conditions across the region.

Analyst QuickTake: Plus first partnered with IVECO in April 2021 to jointly develop automated trucks by integrating IVECO’s S-WAY heavy-duty truck with PlusDrive software. The two companies commenced testing the trucks in Europe and China in December 2021 ; today’s commencement of road testing will help the duo to further validate the technology further.