Einride DAF partnership targets Level 4 trucks

The Swedish technology company Einride and DAF Trucks, one of the biggest names in truck manufacturing, have announced a joint initiative to integrate Einride’s autonomous driving system, Einride Driver, directly into DAF’s premium vehicle platform.

The partnership marks a genuinely significant step toward the large scale commercialisation of SAE Level 4 autonomous electric freight transport, aimed squarely at industry pressures like driver shortages and rising operating costs. Level 4 automation lets a vehicle independently handle repetitive driving tasks under predefined conditions without any need for human intervention, freeing up available drivers to focus on the parts of logistics work where their judgement and expertise genuinely add value.

Integrating autonomous tech with DAF’s electric truck platform

As a first step, Einride and DAF, working alongside experts from TNO, the Dutch independent research institute for applied science and innovation, will collaborate on defining and testing how Einride’s autonomous driving system integrates with DAF’s electric platform. That includes building out the interfaces needed to support safe, scalable autonomous operation.

With TNO’s support, Einride and DAF are also working closely with type approval authorities to make sure the platform meets the requirements for future expansion onto public roads. Initial testing and validation of key interfaces is planned throughout 2026, with the integration and commissioning of Einride’s autonomous driving software following in 2027, at which point all further interface validation and functional testing will be carried out directly on a DAF truck.

SAE Level 4 autonomous trucks build on PACCAR’s existing programme

The initiative builds directly on automated driving work already underway at PACCAR, DAF’s parent company, which has built up considerable experience through its North American Autonomous Vehicle Platform (AVP) programme. In parallel, PACCAR continues advancing work across the wider autonomous trucking ecosystem alongside emerging full stack technology providers, reflecting how quickly scalable, software defined autonomy is evolving for heavy duty transport. Insights from those parallel programmes give the DAF platform additional ways to accelerate its own autonomous capabilities.

Henrik Green, chief technology officer at Einride (our interview in our latest issue), described the partnership as a way to speed up the global scale up of Einride’s autonomous technology by drawing on DAF’s decades of manufacturing strength, framing the collaboration as validation of Einride’s vehicle agnostic approach to autonomy and a step closer to deploying safe, scalable Level 4 autonomy commercially.

Jeroen van den Oetelaar, DAF Trucks’ chief engineer and a member of its board, pointed to the partnership as evidence of DAF’s commitment to innovation and to future proofing the logistics sector more broadly, arguing that combining DAF’s premium truck platform with leading autonomous technology puts the companies in a strong position to help shape a more efficient, safer and more sustainable freight ecosystem.

DAF electric truck range spans city delivery to long haul

DAF currently offers a full lineup of electric trucks, running from the 12 tonne XB Electric built for city distribution work up to the XG Electric and XG+ Electric for longer haul applications. The XG Electric and XG+ Electric share their underlying DNA with the XD and XF Electric trucks, which were jointly named International Truck of the Year 2026 for their efficiency, smooth drivelines and strong driver comfort.