Truck Platooning Market Overview
The global truck platooning market is projected to witness significant growth during the forecast period, owing to the rising environmental pollution and the growing need for safer road transport, operational efficiency in trucks, and efficient truck fleet management. Truck platooning involves the optimum utilization of autonomous driving technologies, which not only reduces the road mishaps but also improves the operational efficiency of trucks and helps the fleet operators to make significant savings on fuel and maintenance costs.
On the basis of technology, the truck platooning market has been categorized into global positioning system (GPS), human–machine interface (HMI), forward collision warning (FCW), autonomous emergency braking (AEB), lane keep assist (LKA), blind spot warning (BSW), and adaptive cruise control (ACC). Of all these, the fastest growth in the market during the forecast period is expected from the ACC technology, as it is indispensable to truck platooning. It helps in adjusting the vehicle speed and maintaining optimum distance between the trucks in a platoon through the use of radio signals.
North America is expected to lead the truck platooning market globally, owing to the rapidly evolving autonomous vehicle technology and the growing concerns over safety in road transportation in the region. In the U.S., the adoption of autonomous vehicle technology is on the rise, which is mainly attributable to the government initiatives in the form of infrastructure development and legislations and the high concentration of automation and connected vehicle technology companies.
Besides, truck platooning testing and demonstrations by private entities (such as Tesla Inc., Daimler Trucks North America, Peloton Technology Inc., and Volvo AB) as well as public entities (such as the Federal Highway Administration [FHWA] and the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration [FMCSA]) are helping in creating awareness on the technology to encourage its adoption in the country. This, in turn, is boosting the truck platooning market growth in the North American region.
Truck Platooning Market Dynamics
Drivers
The growth of the truck platooning market is mainly driven by the benefits offered by the technology, such as cleaner, safer, and more efficient road transport. It helps in reducing the fuel consumption as well as the carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions of trucks. According to the European Federation for Transport and Environment, vehicular emissions from trucks currently contribute about 25% of the total road transport emissions. Also, as per an Intelligent Transportation System for Commercial Vehicles (ITS4CV) study by European Road Transport Telematics Implementation Coordination (ERTICO), platooning can help achieve significant reduction in CO2 emissions, with up to 16% reduction from the trailing trucks and up to 8% from the leading truck.
Additionally, platooning can help improve safety levels in truck operations. Braking under truck platooning is immediate and automatic, with the trucks trailing the lead truck requiring less time (about one-fifth) than the human reaction time. Besides, platooning can also be used for route optimization, which helps in increasing the driving range of the trucks. It also permits the driver to take on other work-related tasks, such as making calls and doing paperwork.
Challenges
The major challenges to the growth of the truck platooning market are the development of standards for the platooning technology, upgradation of the road infrastructure, inadequate government support in the form of favorable regulatory framework, and lack of cooperation among all the stakeholders, including road infrastructure operators, insurance companies, logistics service providers, and policy makers. At present, the truck platooning technology mainly supports mono-brand platooning, i.e. platooning of trucks of the same brand. However, there is a need for implementing standards to include multi-brand platooning, so the fleet operators can platoon trucks of different brands. Until then, the mono-brand platooning technology remains a roadblock in the growth of the truck platooning market.
Additionally, it is necessary to upgrade the existing road infrastructure with better on-road connectivity to support truck platooning. Also, in order to boost the adoption of such efficient technology, a proper regulatory framework needs to be in place. Besides, cooperation among all the stakeholders needs to be strengthened to test, analyze, and implement the technology on a large scale, globally.
Truck Platooning Market Competitive Landscape
The global truck platooning market includes truck OEMs and the technology providers and is primarily characterized by the growing number of mergers and acquisitions in addition to increasing investments. Some of the major truck OEMs incorporating this technology in their products are Volvo AB, Daimler AG, and Scania AB, and some of the key technology providers in the industry are Peloton Technology Inc., Continental AG, Bendix Commercial Vehicle Systems LLC (a subsidiary of Knorr-Bremse AG), and Meritor WABCO Vehicle Control Systems.
The report will also provide a country-wise analysis. Some of the major countries that are covered in the report include the U.S., Canada, U.K., France, Germany, Spain, Sweden, Netherlands, Norway, Austria, Belgium, Sweden, China, Japan, Australia, Singapore, U.A.E., and Kuwait.
