As the global logistics industry grapples with persistent driver shortages, rising operating costs, and increasing pressure to improve efficiency, autonomous trucking is beginning to move beyond promise and into early-stage commercial reality. For much of the past decade, the technology has been described as “almost ready” – a phrase that has invited both optimism and skepticism. Today, that characterization is starting to shift. Autonomous trucks are now hauling real freight on public roads, albeit within limited routes and often still under human supervision, marking a transitional phase between pilot programs and true large-scale deployment. Among the companies at the forefront of this shift is Volvo Autonomous Solutions, the dedicated business unit of Volvo Group focused on developing and deploying self-driving transport systems. Rather than treating autonomy as an add-on, Volvo is pursuing a more integrated approach – embedding autonomous capability directly into its truck platforms, manufacturing processes, and operational ecosystem. The aim is not simply to prove that autonomous driving works, but to demonstrate that it can be delivered reliably, repeatedly, and at industrial scale. Central to this effort is the Volvo VNL Autonomous truck, produced at the company’s New River Valley facility in Virginia alongside conventional vehicles. Developed in collaboration with autonomy partners such as Aurora and Waabi, the platform reflects a broader industry shift toward combining OEM-grade engineering with increasingly sophisticated AI-driven driving systems. In this Q&A, Robotics & Automation News speaks with Shahrukh Kazmi, chief product officer at Volvo Autonomous Solutions, about what has materially changed in recent years to bring autonomous trucking closer to viable deployment. Kazmi discusses the growing importance of system-level integration, redundancy, and operational readiness – factors that are proving just as critical as advances in the driving software itself. While significant hurdles remain – spanning technical validation, regulatory approval, and public trust