Amazon’s influence in automotive industry continues to grow

Amazon’s influence in automotive industry continues to grow

New York, Feb. 22, 2021

German automaker Daimler has selected Amazon Web Services (AWS) to support upcoming tests of its self-driving trucks. Daimler’s subsidiary Torc Robotics is aiming for Level 4 self-driving technology, which means a vehicle can drive without human intervention.

Torc plans to test its self-driving trucks in New Mexico and Virginia. Torc’s vehicle automation software collects and analyzes large amounts of raw data. AWS will provide Torc’s engineers with tools to run tests and simulations.

The extent to which Amazon has established itself in the automotive industry is illustrated by the following examples:

– Amazon is an investor in Aurora Innovation, a startup developing self-driving technologies and electric vehicles.

– In December, Amazon and Blackberry built a cloud-based software platform that enables automakers to optimize sensor data from vehicles.

– AWS and BMW built a data hub in December that helps automakers improve efficiency.