Charlatte Autonom reaches an important milestone with the successful deployment of its autonomous tractor (L4) at a major car manufacturer

Villeurbanne, France, 30 July 2024 – 9 PM CET – Navya Mobility 

Charlatte Autonom, a pioneering company in the field of autonomous mobility solutions, is celebrating an important milestone in its partnership with a major car manufacturer. After being selected as part of a pilot project for the integration of an autonomous tractor at this manufacturer’s production site in Germany, Charlatte Autonom has announced that its Autonom® Tract AT135 will be in service until August 2024, with level 4 autonomy (i.e. with no operator on board).

A high-level partnership to promote autonomous logistics

Charlatte Autonom is a joint venture set up in 2018 by Navya (now Gama), a leader in autonomous mobility systems, and Charlatte Manutention, a Fayat Group company and world leader in electric baggage tractors. Leveraging the expertise of its partners, and also supported by Macnica, the shareholder of Gama, it is currently meeting the challenge of automating the logistics of an industrial site of a prestigious player in the automotive sector.

The pilot project supported by Charlatte Autonom consists of a route on a closed site, with a complex and dynamic environment, marked in particular by 5 pedestrian crossings and 7 intersections. The Autonom® Tract AT135 tractor tows 2 convoys, over a length of 870 metres, thus linking various logistics units on the production site. 

The use case enables Charlatte Autonom’s autonomous driving performance to be validated, such as the automatic opening of doors, the ability to make a U-turn, and driving in mixed traffic, both indoors and outdoors, including among heavy goods vehicles. The aim is to demonstrate the high added value of the Autonom® Tract AT135 tractor in optimising the customer’s logistics operations.

Deployed on site since April, the Autonom® Tract AT135 is part of a major innovation in the logistics sector, where the move to level 4 autonomy is a key milestone for Charlatte Autonom and Navya Mobility, as well as for the customer.

“Our Autonom® Tract solution is both secure and reliable. It is based on a demanding prior risk analysis and a step-by-step resolution, guaranteeing compliance with the applicable standards. This provides our customers with an autonomous turnkey logistics solution that simplifies deployment on site, while keeping the risk profile under control” says Jean-Claude Bailly, CEO of Navya Mobility. 

“The AT135’s ability to help automate the transport of goods on closed sites is the result of a successful partnership within the Charlatte Autonom joint venture. Our know-how in industrial and logistics vehicles, combined with Gama’s expertise in automation, is helping us to build tomorrow’s logistics together, today” says Bastien Devaux, CEO of Charlatte Autonom.

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L’Autonom® Tract AT135

Towards replicating the model at other L4 operating sites

The Charlatte Autonom level 4 autonomous logistics solution is operational under nominal operating conditions on an industrial and logistics site. As proof of this, Charlatte Autonom has won the confidence of a leading car manufacturer, a benchmark of excellence in the automotive industry. It is also modular and customised, adapting to the needs of the customer and the specific features of its infrastructure. It also attaches the utmost importance to safety, both before and during the integration of its solution.

The current project is part of a long-term process of integrating innovative logistics solutions into the manufacturer’s industrial facilities; implementation under real operating conditions is a prerequisite for integration on a larger scale.

Beyond the present use case, the successful deployment of the Autonom® Tract Level 4 autonomous tractor marks a crucial step in Charlatte Autonom’s journey towards widespread adoption of its solution in the industrial sector. Charlatte Autonom plans to continue expanding its offering.

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About Charlatte Autonom

CHARLATTE AUTONOM is a joint venture created in 2018 by NAVYA, now Navya Mobility, a leader in autonomous mobility systems, and CHARLATTE MANUTENTION (FAYAT Group), a world leader in the design and manufacture of electric handling equipment for industrial and airport use, with the aim of developing autonomous tractor solutions for industrial and airport sites. The result of this sharing of expertise and know-how is the AUTONOM® TRACT AT135, an autonomous, electric and supervised solution for transporting goods.

About Navya Mobility

The company is a leader in the field of autonomous mobility solutions for the transport of people and goods in France and internationally.

With its proven technological and logistical expertise and prestigious partners, Navya Mobility provides its customers with turnkey driving system solutions and an ecosystem of seasoned players, making Navya Mobility the benchmark player in the autonomous and zero-emission mobility sector.

Navya Mobility’s shareholders, Macnica and Nippon Telegraph and Telephone West Company (NTTW), are thus opening up new synergies and growth opportunities for this entity, which combines the provision of the Arma and Evo autonomous shuttles with the development of the latest generation L4 autonomous driving technology that can be integrated both on a passenger transport platform and on platforms for the logistics and port sectors.

The Autonom® Tract dedicated to goods transport is also continuing its development activities within Charlatte Autonom.

The new company, which now has the resources needed to achieve its objectives and provide its customers with sustainable, innovative and reliable solutions, can now address four fast-growing markets with strong demand for autonomous mobility: public and private passenger transport, logistics, ports and airports.

Navya Mobility is led by Jean-Claude Bailly, who is the company’s Chairman and CEO.

website: https://navya.tech/en/

About Charlatte Manutention

Charlatte Manutention, founded in 1982, is now the world’s leading manufacturer of electric baggage tractors.

40 years on, the company continues to grow with over 18,000 units in service worldwide, and a wide range of vehicles for airport, industrial and military applications: baggage tractors, cargo tractors, baggage conveyors and small tractors used in other industrial applications.

Charlatte designs robust and durable equipment in close collaboration with its customers, and is able to accurately estimate the performance required by the application in order to guide its customers in the choice of equipment adapted to their needs (with dedicated options, special parts and a wide choice of pre-existing options).

Charlatte also provides technical support throughout the process to ensure that the equipment runs smoothly, with qualified technicians working all over the world and offering training on site or at its premises.

Charlatte offers an industry-leading warranty on its equipment and administers it fairly.

Charlatte maintains a comprehensive stock of spare parts and takes great pride in the fact that 98% of spare parts requested by its customers are dispatched within 24 hours.

Website: http://www.charlattemanutention.fayat.com

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