Autonomous Trucking: Leadership Change at Daimler Truck’s independent subsidiary Torc

Dr. Peter Vaughan Schmidt new CEO of Torc Robotics, effective October 1^st 2022
Predecessor Michael Fleming is stepping down as CEO of his own volition and will retain a seat on Torc’s Board of Directors engaging as a key advisor
Martin Daum, CEO Daimler Truck: “I would like to extend my heartfelt thanks to Michael Fleming. His achievements for our company and for our industry as a whole cannot be overstated. He is a true pioneer and visionary who paved the way for autonomous driving, founding Torc Robotics 17 years ago. The aim now is to establish Torc as a global company with four locations, bring autonomous trucking technology to perfection in the next few years, and ultimately to series production. I am very pleased that we have the right personality in Peter Vaughan Schmidt to shape this next phase as CEO of Torc.”

Stuttgart / Portland / Blacksburg – Daimler Truck and Torc Robotics announce a change in leadership at Torc that will usher in the next era of growth, product commercialization, and customer focus. Effective October 1, Dr. Peter Vaughan Schmidt (52), currently head of Daimler Truck’s Autonomous Technology Group, will succeed Michael Fleming (43) as chief executive officer of Torc Robotics, an independent subsidiary of Daimler Truck. Fleming will retain a seat on the Torc Board of Directors and remain engaged as a key advisor. This change in leadership is a natural transition in Torc’s evolution as a company since 2019, when Daimler invested into the company.

Martin Daum, Chairman of the Board of Management of Daimler Truck: “I would like to extend my heartfelt thanks to Michael Fleming. His achievements for our company and for our industry as a whole cannot be overstated. He is a true pioneer and visionary who paved the way for autonomous driving, founding Torc Robotics 17 years ago. Torc has been part of the Daimler Truck family since 2019 and, with Michael at the helm, has successfully further developed its software solution for autonomous driving and adapted it to our Freightliner trucks. As a consultant and Member of Torc’s Board of Directors, Michael Fleming will continue to contribute his expertise and I am very much looking forward to continuing our cooperation. Following the pioneering work in recent years, Torc is now entering the next phase. The aim now is to establish Torc as a global company with four locations, bring autonomous trucking technology to perfection in the next few years, and ultimately to series production. I am very pleased that we have the right personality in Peter Vaughan Schmidt to shape this next phase as CEO of Torc. Peter has been responsible for autonomous driving at Daimler Truck for many years and has been closely supporting Torc since we invested in 2019. He therefore has everything it takes to lead Torc, as an independent company in which Daimler Truck holds a majority stake, into a successful future and to bring the entire potential of autonomous trucks to the road.”

Schmidt has a wealth of experience in the industry, serving Daimler and Daimler Truck in a variety of roles since 2005, including production and plant management, as well as product and platform management. In these roles, he has led large organizations and acquired ample expertise in commercializing products. Since assuming responsibility as Head of Strategy at Daimler Trucks in 2015, Schmidt has been deeply involved in the field of autonomous trucking from developing Daimler Truck’s autonomous strategy to implementing it as Head of the Autonomous Technology Group of Daimler Truck in the past three years. He was a key figure in acquiring Torc Robotics in 2019 and worked closely with Michael Fleming ever since.

After competing as a student for Virginia Tech in the 2004 and 2005 DARPA Grand Challenges, Michael Fleming founded Torc to commercialize self-driving technology. Since then, Fleming has led Torc Robotics as CEO, deploying its technology across the trucking, automotive, transit, mining and defense industries. Following a majority investment by Daimler Truck, Fleming and his team have completely focused Torc on autonomous hub-to-hub trucking. Under his leadership, Torc developed into an autonomous powerhouse and quadrupled in size into a global organization with teams in four locations in the United States and Europe. He pushed development of SAE Level 4 autonomous technology significantly forward by successfully implementing Torc’s software stack on a fleet of heavy-duty vehicles now running daily testing programs out of Torc’s testing facilities. After 17 years, he is now stepping down as CEO of his own volition, following a long held natural transition plan.

Torc Robotics, headquartered in Blacksburg, Virginia, is an independent subsidiary of Daimler Truck AG, a global leader and pioneer in trucking. Founded in 2005 at the birth of the self-driving vehicle revolution, Torc has 17 years of experience in pioneering safety-critical, self-driving applications. Torc offers a complete self-driving vehicle software and integration solution and is currently focusing on commercializing autonomous trucks for long-haul applications in the U.S. Torc operates test facilities in Albuquerque, New Mexico, and engineering offices in Austin, Texas, and Stuttgart, Germany. Torc’s mission is saving lives with autonomous technology, which incorporates reducing highway deaths, enabling critical supplies – including medicines and foods – to reach every community in a timely manner, and helping the transportation industry increase fuel economy, uptime, and capacity.

This document contains forward-looking statements that reflect our current views about future events. The words “aim”, “ambition”, “anticipate,” “assume,” “believe,” “estimate,” “expect,” “intend,” “may,” ”can,” “could,” “plan,” “project,” “should” and similar expressions are used to identify forward-looking statements. These statements are subject to many risks and uncertainties, including an adverse development of global economic conditions, in particular a decline of demand in our most important markets; a deterioration of our refinancing possibilities on the credit and financial markets; events of force majeure including natural disasters, pandemics, acts of terrorism, political unrest, armed conflicts, industrial accidents and their effects on our sales, purchasing, production or financial services activities; changes in currency exchange rates, customs and foreign trade provisions; a shift in consumer preferences; a possible lack of acceptance of our products or services which limits our ability to achieve prices and adequately utilise our production capacities; price increases for fuel or raw materials; disruption of production due to shortages of materials, labour strikes or supplier insolvencies; a decline in resale prices of used vehicles; the effective implementation of cost-reduction and efficiency-optimization measures; the business outlook for companies in which we hold a significant equity interest; the successful implementation of strategic cooperations and joint ventures; changes in laws, regulations and government policies, particularly those relating to vehicle emissions, fuel economy and safety; the resolution of pending government investigations or of investigations requested by governments and the conclusion of pending or threatened future legal proceedings; and other risks and uncertainties, some of which are described under the heading “Risk and Opportunity Report” in the current Annual Report. If any of these risks and uncertainties materializes, or if the assumptions underlying any of our forward-looking statements prove to be incorrect, the actual results may be materially different from those we express or imply by such statements. We do not intend or assume any obligation to update these forward-looking statements since they are based solely on the circumstances at the date of publication.

Daimler Truck Holding AG ("Daimler Truck") is one of the world's largest commercial vehicle manufacturers, with over 40 main locations and more than 100,000 employees around the globe. The founders of Daimler Truck have invented the modern transportation industry with their trucks and buses a good 125 years ago. Unchanged to this day, the company's aspirations are dedicated to one purpose: Daimler Truck works for all who keep the world moving. Its customers enable people to be mobile and get goods to their destinations reliably, on time, and safely. Daimler Truck provides the technologies, products, and services for them to do so. This also applies to the transformation to CO2-neutral driving. The company is striving to make sustainable transport a success, with profound technological knowledge and a clear view of its customers' needs. Daimler Truck's business activities are structured in five reporting segments: Trucks North America (TN) with the truck brands Freightliner and Western Star and the school bus brand Thomas Built Buses. Trucks Asia (TA) with the FUSO and BharatBenz commercial vehicle brands. Mercedes-Benz (MB) with the truck brand of the same name. Daimler Buses (DB) with the Mercedes-Benz and Setra bus brands. Daimler Truck's new Financial Services business (DTFS) constitutes the fifth segment, the product range in the truck segments includes light, medium and heavy trucks for long-distance, distribution and construction traffic and special-purpose vehicles used mainly in the municipal and vocational sector. The product range of the bus segment includes city buses, school buses and intercity buses, coaches and bus chassis. In addition to the sale of new and used commercial vehicles, the company also offers aftersales services and connectivity solutions.

Autonomous Trucking: Leadership Change at Daimler Truck’s independent subsidiary Torc

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