Daimler Truck and Torc Robotics recently announced 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, currently head of Daimler Truck’s Autonomous Technology Group, will succeed Michael Fleming 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.
“I would like to extend my heartfelt thanks to Michael Fleming,” said Martin Daum, Chairman of the Board of Management of Daimler Truck.” 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,” Daum continued. “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.”
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. 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.
Torc continues to be an independent subsidiary of Daimler Truck forming a partnership fully committed to commercializing autonomous trucks within this decade.
