Charger Logistics signed for up to 500 Aurora trucks and will subscribe to the Driver

Aurora Innovation said on October 26 that Charger Logistics had signed a non-binding memorandum of understanding under which the carrier intends to purchase up to 500 trucks powered by the Aurora Driver, for delivery over 2027 and 2028.

The release said the memorandum builds on a contract the two signed in July. On a final agreement, Charger intends to subscribe to Aurora’s Driver as a Service model, under which the carrier owns the trucks and pays for the driving software as a service. Aurora described the resulting revenue for itself as high-margin, capital-efficient and asset-light, and said such agreements are a critical component of its plan to scale to 30,000 driverless trucks in 2030. It said additional customers are pursuing the same contract structure.

Andy Khera, Charger’s president, said the company had realized operational benefits that point to a path to scaling, and that Aurora’s plans to open long-haul, high-volume routes position the carrier to scale geographically while it integrates autonomy from its transportation management system to the road. Charger Logistics runs its own transportation management system and in-house applications across the United States and Mexico. Aurora said the carrier has been running autonomous operations along the Laredo corridor.

On October 8, Kodiak AI announced an autonomous lane between Dallas and Laredo with a carrier it named Charger USA. Both releases carry an identical company description naming the entity Charger Logistics USA, and both name Khera as its president. Neither states that the two are the same legal person.

The release named no value, and Aurora filed no current report with the US Securities and Exchange Commission in connection with the memorandum, which is consistent with a non-binding agreement. Charger Logistics is privately held.