torc robotics readying albuquerque location site for permanent location

A self-service vehicle company specializing in autonomous and unmanned technology hopes to begin work soon setting up a permanent location in metro Albuquerque.

Torc Robotics, which is based in Blacksburg, Virginia, plans to renovate an existing structure in the Duke City in a project with Daimler Trucks North America.

The company has already been trying out its self-driving trucks on long-haul freight routes in New Mexico as part of a larger effort to develop what it calls its Level 4 truck.

Daimler is a majority shareholder in the Torc company. The two entities in 2019 announced an automated truck development partnership.

State and local officials have been in talks with the two companies for months in an effort to secure a testing center for them in New Mexico.

In a press release, Albuquerque Mayor Tim Keller hailed the Torc/Daimler decision as aligning with the city’s advanced research and development capabilities.

“Industrial mobility is the future of the auto/trucking industry, and companies can see that we’re in the fast lane as a center for advanced technology,” noted the Mayor.
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Launched in 2005, Torc Robotics recently announced plans to invest $8.5 million in the expansion of its existing facilities in Virginia.

By Garry Boulard

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