Peterbilt announced that it will develop a new ecosystem of connected products for its industry-leading vehicles. The initiative will be under the umbrella of the cooperation agreement recently signed between Platform Science, Inc. and Peterbilt parent company PACCAR Inc.The new services will leverage Platform Science’s Virtual Vehicle™ platform which enables customers to access fleet management functionality, ELD capabilities, truck-specific navigation and third-party applications directly from their vehicles.
Peterbilt leverages technology and innovation, and will jointly build this industry-leading ecosystem to take our connectivity services to the next level.
“Today’s customers demand the highest level of uptime and complete integration with their existing fleet management solution” commented Jason Skoog, Peterbilt general manager and PACCAR vice president. “SmartLINQ and the PACCAR Solutions portal have provided a solid foundation to build this next-generation solution” Skoog added.
“With Virtual Vehicle, truck buyers can eliminate barriers to innovation, production, and safety and customize in-cab experiences with technology solutions that best meet their needs,” said Jack Kennedy, co-founder & CEO, Platform Science. “For more than 80 years, Peterbilt has built world-class vehicles that maximize safety, performance and uptime, combining innovative technology with enduring craftmanship. We are proud to collaborate with their team to integrate the Virtual Vehicle platform into their trucks and deliver the most cutting-edge truck technology to meet their customers’ every need.”
The Platform Science ecosystem will eventually allow for third-party apps to be downloaded and managed remotely or directly on the truck interface, eliminating the need for costly and time-consuming after-market hardware wiring and installation. “The new services will leverage the existing connectivity solutions of our heavy- and medium-duty truck platforms” added Bart Lore, senior director Global Connected Services, “thanks to the new app ecosystem, Peterbilt vehicles will take a quantum leap integration to existing fleet management solutions” added Lore.
The new suite of services will launch in 2024 with class 8 Models 579 and 567 and the medium-duty Models 548, 537, 536 and 535. Multiple service packages will be available depending on the truck model and intended application.
