Kodiak Selects Roush as Manufacturing Partner to Upfit Kodiak Driver-Equipped Trucks

Rhea-AI Summary

Kodiak Robotics has selected Roush Industries as its manufacturing partner to scale the upfitting of autonomous trucks equipped with the Kodiak Driver system. Starting in H2 2025, Roush will upfit trucks at its Livonia, Michigan facility, with initial trucks planned for Atlas Energy Solutions. Roush will establish a production line for the modular hardware installation, including SensorPods, AI compute, and safety systems. The partnership leverages Roush's 50-year expertise in mobility and autonomous vehicle upfitting. Kodiak, which achieved the first publicly announced driverless semi-truck delivery in December 2024, is pursuing a business combination with Ares Acquisition Corporation II (NYSE: AACT) expected to close in H2 2025. The deal aims to accelerate Kodiak's market strategy and address the $4+ trillion global trucking market opportunity.

Positive

• Partnership with established manufacturer Roush enables scaling of autonomous truck production
• Flexible manufacturing process allows customization for different vehicle configurations and customer needs
• Already achieved milestone of first driverless semi-truck delivery to customer in December 2024
• Planned public listing through SPAC merger will provide capital for expansion
• Targeting $4+ trillion global market opportunity in trucking industry

Negative

• Production scaling won't begin until second half of 2025
• SPAC merger completion is subject to stockholder approval and closing conditions
• Limited current production capacity until new manufacturing process is implemented

Insights

Autonomous Vehicle Technology Analyst

Kodiak's partnership with Roush establishes critical manufacturing infrastructure to scale autonomous trucking operations commercially in 2025.

This manufacturing partnership represents a crucial operational milestone for Kodiak as it transitions from limited pilot deployments to commercial-scale operations. Selecting Roush—with its five decades of mobility experience and specific expertise in autonomous vehicle upfitting—addresses one of the fundamental challenges autonomous trucking companies face: establishing reliable, scalable production processes for specialized hardware integration.

The announcement reveals several important strategic elements. First, Kodiak is implementing a modular, vehicle-agnostic hardware approach that includes proprietary SensorPods, AI compute systems, and redundant actuation elements. This flexibility allows customization across different truck configurations rather than being locked into a single vehicle type, potentially accelerating market penetration across diverse trucking applications.

Notably, this partnership follows Kodiak's December 2024 milestone of being the first company to deliver driverless semi-trucks to a commercial customer (Atlas Energy Solutions), suggesting they've already validated their core technology. The manufacturing partnership now focuses on scaling what's already working, rather than still proving technical feasibility.

The timing aligns with Kodiak's planned public listing through SPAC merger with Ares Acquisition Corporation II, expected in the second half of 2025. This manufacturing infrastructure provides tangible evidence of commercialization capability—essential for public market investors who often demand clear paths to revenue generation beyond R&D phases.

While the autonomous trucking sector faces regulatory and technological hurdles, Kodiak's establishment of a dedicated manufacturing process indicates confidence in near-term commercial deployment, particularly in the logistics corridors where they've already demonstrated driverless operations.

Kodiak expects its collaboration with Roush will enable it to scale the deployment of Kodiak Driver-equipped trucks beginning in the second half of 2025      

MOUNTAIN VIEW, Calif. and LIVONIA, Mich., June 18, 2025 /PRNewswire/ -- Kodiak Robotics, Inc. ("Kodiak"), a leading provider of AI-powered autonomous vehicle technology, and Roush Industries, Inc. ("Roush"), a leading product development supplier serving the mobility, aerospace, defense, and theme park industries, today announced that the companies will work together to scale upfitting of autonomous trucks equipped with the Kodiak Driver, Kodiak's advanced AI-powered autonomous solution. Starting in the second half of 2025, Roush will upfit these trucks in its facility in Livonia, Michigan. The first trucks Roush will upfit are expected to be for Kodiak's customer, Atlas Energy Solutions (NYSE: AESI), as Kodiak and Atlas work to expand the driverless operations they began in December 2024.

In collaboration with Kodiak, Roush has committed to open a production line for scaled upfitting of trucks equipped with the Kodiak Driver's modular and vehicle-agnostic hardware. This hardware includes Kodiak's proprietary SensorPods, AI compute, Actuation Control Engine safety compute, and redundant actuation elements. Roush has also committed to design, develop and implement a flexible manufacturing process that can rapidly scale as Kodiak increases its upfit of Kodiak Driver-powered trucks to meet customer demand.

"Kodiak's autonomous trucking technology is an exciting advancement in the mobility industry," said Brad Rzetelny, VP Contract Manufacturing, Roush. "Together we're working to build a robust and repeatable manufacturing process that supports Kodiak's transition from limited production to full-scale deployment. Kodiak's technology and engineering rigor set a high bar, and we believe we are uniquely positioned to meet that bar at scale."

For nearly 50 years Roush has been a trusted name in mobility. Today, the company is recognized as a highly-regarded provider of product development services which includes  systems integration, manufacturing, and modification services. Roush has developed deep expertise in upfitting and delivering complex vehicles, including autonomous vehicles for multiple developers. The company's demonstrated track record of bringing innovative products to market establishes a strong foundation for Kodiak to scale the deployment of the Kodiak Driver.

"Roush's deep experience upfitting autonomous vehicles makes them an ideal production partner for Kodiak," said Don Burnette, Founder and CEO, Kodiak. "We believe that Roush's strong quality management processes will ensure our customers' Kodiak Driver-powered trucks will be built to exacting standards, while giving us the manufacturing flexibility to support a wide range of vehicle configurations, including different vehicle and cab types, axle setups, and heavy-duty applications to meet the diverse demands of the trucking industry. Unlike traditional factory-line integration, which is limited to a single configuration, we believe that working with Roush will allow us to move faster and customize vehicles to meet customer needs."

In December 2024, Kodiak became the first publicly announced company to deliver driverless semi-trucks to a customer. In April, Kodiak announced it is seeking to go public through a business combination with Ares Acquisition Corporation II (NYSE: AACT). The proposed business combination is expected to close in the second half of 2025, subject to approval by AACT and Kodiak stockholders and the satisfaction or waiver of customary closing conditions. Upon the closing of the proposed business combination, the combined company is expected to be listed on a national stock exchange. By partnering with AACT and accessing the public markets, Kodiak intends to accelerate its go-to-market strategy, meet growing customer demand, tackle critical industry challenges and unlock the trucking industry's estimated $4+ trillion global market opportunity.

About Kodiak Robotics, Inc.

Kodiak Robotics, Inc. was founded in 2018 and is a leading provider of AI-powered autonomous vehicle technology that is designed to help tackle some of the toughest driving jobs. Kodiak's driverless solution can help address the critical problem of safely transporting goods in the face of unprecedented supply chain challenges. Kodiak's vision is to become the trusted world leader in autonomous ground transportation. Kodiak is committed to a safer and more efficient future for all through the commercialization of driverless trucking at scale. To that end, Kodiak developed the Kodiak Driver, a virtual driver that combines advanced AI-powered software with modular and vehicle-agnostic hardware designed to help address Kodiak's customers' needs. The Kodiak Driver is not just an idea—it is operating without a human driver today. Kodiak serves customers in both commercial trucking and the public sector. In 2024, Kodiak believes it achieved a historic milestone by becoming the first company to deploy customer-owned and -operated driverless trucks in commercial service. The Kodiak Driver is also being utilized in the public sector, where Kodiak believes it can support national security initiatives and critical government applications.

About Roush
For close to 50 years, Roush has boldly imagined and created remarkable solutions for some of the world's greatest organizations. We dream, design, engineer, test, and deliver extraordinary products for customers in the advanced mobility, aerospace, defense, and theme park industries. Roush is unique in its ability to leverage services across the complete product development cycle, solving customers' most complex challenges and accelerating critical product launch targets.

View original content to download multimedia:https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/kodiak-selects-roush-as-manufacturing-partner-to-upfit-kodiak-driver-equipped-trucks-302484891.html

SOURCE Kodiak Robotics

FAQ

When will Roush begin upfitting Kodiak's autonomous trucks?

Roush will begin upfitting Kodiak's autonomous trucks in the second half of 2025 at their facility in Livonia, Michigan.

What is the significance of Kodiak's partnership with Roush Industries?

The partnership enables Kodiak to scale production of autonomous trucks through Roush's expertise in vehicle upfitting and manufacturing, with flexible customization options for different vehicle configurations.

What is Kodiak's current status regarding driverless operations?

Kodiak became the first publicly announced company to deliver driverless semi-trucks to a customer in December 2024, with operations currently serving Atlas Energy Solutions.

What is Kodiak's plan to go public and when?

Kodiak plans to go public through a business combination with Ares Acquisition Corporation II (NYSE: AACT), expected to close in the second half of 2025, subject to stockholder approval.

What components will Roush be installing in Kodiak's autonomous trucks?

Roush will install Kodiak's proprietary SensorPods, AI compute systems, Actuation Control Engine safety compute, and redundant actuation elements.