Some of the first autonomous vehicles to be deployed in Australia could be going underground, with electric LandCruisers set to be fitted with technology developed by an Irish company.
A partnership between Irish and Australian companies have launched a bold plan to assemble up to 6000 autonomous electric Toyota LandCruiser 70 Series over the next three years.
Local firm Climatech Zero says it has licenced autonomous technology from Ireland’s CoolPlanet, to be fitted to electric LandCruisers manufactured by Germany’s Huber.
Huber aims to produce 200 of the electric Toyota four-wheel-drives in 2024 to be used in Australian mining operations.
The project is the latest to produce electric versions of Toyota off-roaders for mining companies.
MORE: Electric Toyota LandCruiser on the cards for Australia by 2030
GB Auto says it has a $250 million deal to make LandCruisers and HiLux utes, Zero Automotive has its own electric 70 Series.
SEA Electric says it has plans to convert 8500 LandCruisers and HiLux utes to battery power in partnership with MEVCO, and even Toyota has teamed up with mining giant BHP to trial electric LandCruisers 70 Series utes.
However, this project also claims to utilise autonomous driving technology, which could allow vehicles to be used on mining sites without the need for drivers.
According to a joint statement from CoolPlanet and Climatech Zero, vehicle accidents account for 28 per cent of all deaths in the mining industry.
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