PLAYA DEL CARMEN, Q. ROO.- The trucking industry is one of the sectors experiencing the greatest surge in technological innovation. The promise of autonomous vehicles goes beyond modernizing fleets; they also aim to transform road safety, reduce emissions, and open up new forms of logistics operations.
During his participation in Top Flotillas and LOGEX 2025, Andrés Omaña, Director of Operations and Sustainable Mobility at ECOBICI , emphasized that driving automation can reduce accidents by up to 90% , an argument that directly affects the freight transport industry.
“It’s much safer to drive a self-driving car than one driven by a person,” he noted.
The interest is no small matter; the specialist noted that companies in the sector in other countries are working on tractor-trailers that use sensors to map obstacles and react up to nine seconds in advance, even in adverse conditions, such as sandstorms or nighttime routes.
Pony AI , from China, is already developing fully autonomous tractor-trailers, while Gatik has made more than two million deliveries for Walmart in the United States and Canada, specializing in middle-mile journeys.
The rationale behind these tests is that if 40% of fatal road accidents occur at night, and a large proportion involve trucks, the mitigation potential with autonomous units is enormous.
Furthermore, the operating model is attractive to supply chains: vehicles capable of operating almost 24 hours a day, with minimal breaks for charging or maintenance, maximizing utilization and reducing costs per kilometer traveled.
Although regulations in Mexico only allow Level 2 technologies (advanced assistance functions in brands like Mercedes-Benz , Audi , or Tesla ), the international benchmark provides a glimpse into the direction the market is headed. In the United States, Waymo has already accumulated more than 10 million trips and plans to grow to 7,000 vehicles by 2026, with a proven decrease of up to 88% in serious incidents involving human drivers.
Micromobility is also gaining ground: electric bicycles, scooters and public rental systems that, according to the consulting firm McKinsey , will generate investments of 360 billion dollars (mdd) in 2030. In this area, Omaña recalled the example of Mexico City, which already operates the largest public bicycle system in Latin America and where vehicle restrictions force a rethinking of the last mile.
The point of convergence is culture. For Generation Z , owning a car is no longer a priority; they prefer to get around by scooter, electric bike, or even a robotaxi. This shift in mentality, coupled with the pressure for safety and sustainability , will set the pace for the adoption of autonomous vehicles in transportation and beyond.
Comment and follow us on X: @karinaquintero / @GrupoT21
