Truck giant Scania has announced that it will invest $104 million in new infrastructure and facilities in its home base of Sodertalje, Sweden, for testing and driving future electrified and autonomous vehicles.

Scania said that with the rapid development of autonomous and electrified vehicles, it has planned the investment as a part of its research and development operations. The company has recently completed a new foundry in Sodertalje and work is ongoing on a new building for battery assembly at the same location. And now with this new investment, Scania is building both a new test track as well as extensions of existing ones.

Anders Williamsson, head of Industrial Operations, Scania, said: “Our ambition is to be a leader within electrification of heavy vehicles and also strengthen our ability in autonomous vehicles over time. It will take large investments to stay at the forefront. We evaluate and examine the possibility to build a test track adapted for future vehicles to meet the demand in autonomous and electrification we see is on its way.

“We continue to invest locally in Sodertalje, to be close to the whole chain with production, development and testing. It is vital for Scania, but also important for the cluster of vehicles in the greater Stockholm region and for Sweden’s ability to take lead in the development of sustainable transport solutions.”

Scania plans to begin work on the new facilities during 2022 subject to approval by the local Swedish authorities, with the work expected to go on until at least 2026.