Aurora Postpones 200-Truck Target to February Due to Supplier Constraints

Autonomous trucking company Aurora Innovation announced it will miss its 2026 goal of having 200 trucks on the road, with that milestone now expected in February following production delays caused by supplier constraints. The shortfall will reduce 2026 revenue. However, Chief Financial Officer David Maday stated that supplier issues have been resolved and the company remains on track to reach 1,000 trucks on the road by the end of 2027, backed by demand from nine different customers.

Aurora plans to shift its business model toward customer-owned fleets instead of owning and operating driverless trucks for clients. According to Maday, this approach, coupled with increased revenue and fewer assets on its books, should help the company achieve positive cash flow in 2028 as it targets 30,000 trucks on the road by the end of 2030. To fund its growth, Aurora may raise capital by issuing shares, supplementing its existing line of credit.

The company has faced several hurdles since going public via a special purpose acquisition company in 2021, including 2022 cost cuts, delaying its fully driverless commercial truck launch to 2025, and the departure of co-founder Sterling Anderson in May of last year. Aurora’s stock, which once peaked above $17, trades at around $5 per share.

Paccar Inc., one of its manufacturing partners, previously requested that a human remain behind the wheel due to risk aversion and liability perspectives, though Aurora is working with Paccar to remove the driver in a future truck generation. Aurora’s current rigs are built by International Motors, a subsidiary of Germany’s Traton Group. At a Roush Enterprises plant in suburban Detroit, workers handle final assembly by upgrading trucks with driverless controls, cameras, lidar, and sensors. Roush’s factory is set to produce up to 20 self-driving Class 8 trucks a week in December, with potential to double capacity. Aurora removed the safety driver in July, and customers including Hirschbach Motor Lines, McLane Co., and Detmar Logistics are currently running driverless operations.