I predict a future world where anything that moves could become autonomous. That includes anything with propellers, wheels, legs or arms across industries such as Industrial, mobility, aerospace & defense, mining, and healthcare. In my previous article I predicted this to be a $10 trillion opportunity by 2035. I followed this up with an article on Robotaxis, where the Markets and Markets team projects more than 1.5mn Robotaxis on the road by 2035. So the question is: are cars leading? Will trucks be far behind? Or is there a stronger business case for autonomous trucks? For much of the past decade, autonomous trucking was defined by ambitious timelines that repeatedly moved out. Early expectations centered on technical progress, but commercial deployment proved harder than many companies first suggested. The question now is less about controlled demonstrations and more about whether autonomous trucks can run safely, reliably and economically in commercial freight operations. We explored this transition in interviews with Peter Voorhoeve, President of Volvo Trucks North America, and Sasko Cuklev, who leads on‑road solutions at Volvo Autonomous Solutions. Peter set out the broader market context, including the recent freight recession and its impact on fleets and OEMs. Sasko, who has worked on autonomy since 2015, described how expectations and roles around autonomous trucking have evolved as programmes moved from pilots toward commercial operations. Current Deployment Indicators There are now tangible signs that autonomous trucking has entered a more concrete stage of deployment. Aurora Innovation has been operating driverless heavy‑duty trucks between Dallas and Houston since 2025, in what is currently the first commercial driverless Class 8 service on U.S. public roads. Volvo Group has put firm milestones behind its own plans, outlining fully driverless operations in Texas in the first quarter of 2027 and more than 300 autonomous trucks on