Cenex chats: Miles Garner, Aurrigo International
Miles Garner is the Sales & Marketing Director at Aurrigo International – leaders in first / last mile driverless vehicle solutions. Here, he catches up with Transport + Energy Editorial Director Alec Peachey ahead of this year’s Cenex-LCV and CAM event which takes place on September 6 and 7 at UTAC Millbrook in Bedfordshire.
Q. Tell us about yourself, your job and your organisation
A. ”I have 35 years’ experience within the automotive, telematics and consumer electronics industry. I’ve previously worked for Philips, Sony UK / Europe and Cobra. In 2007 I left RDM (now Aurrigo) to join its spin off telematics company called Auto-Txt as Sales & Marketing Director. I then re-joined Aurrigo in 2013 to grow their autonomous vehicle division and brand. Aurrigo now has developed and manufactures a range of autonomous, electric vehicles for particular roles in passenger movement and aviation. Aurrigo became AIM listed on the London Stock exchange in September 2022 as Aurrigo International PLC and have offices in North America, Singapore, Australia and UK where I manage sales and marketing activities across the globe.”
Q. Why are you speaking at the event?
A. ”Aurrigo has never built a diesel vehicle, we design vehicles which are purpose designed to be autonomous and electric from the beginning, meaning we can tailor them to the task they perform. By maximising the advantages of our vehicles and playing to the strengths of their drivetrains and autonomous capabilities, we are helping more companies, governmental organisations and airports to reduce carbon emissions, eliminate noxious exhuast emissions, improve efficiency of operation and enhance safety.”
Q. What will be the main content of your presentation?
A. ”My presentation will talk about how Aurrigo is focused on designing vehicles for applications where there is a clear and demonstrable demand pull for autonomous, electric vehicles. We have indentified that aviation has a particular need to reduce carbon emissions and eliminate exhaust emissions from vehicles which operate airside in an airport. We are presenting about how we have taken a journey from early engineering mules, built on existing vehicles, to the products we are building today, designed to maximise the autonomous capabilities of our vehicles to include innovative features.”
Q. What you would you like the delegates to take away from your presentation?
A. ”Autonomous vehicles are operating at a level in today’s market although there are challenges to overcome when operating on public roads in mixed traffic. From a commercial perspective, the logistics sector (in particular aviation) is the closest to full mass market roll out. Not only is it possible to operate in this environment, but companies in aviation want autonomous electric vehicles now to reduce emissions, increase efficiency and to allow scarce, security cleared colleagues to be deployed in other roles. ”
Q. Do you think that most barriers have now been overcome to allow for the widespread adoption of electric vehicles? What barriers, if any, remain?
A. ”From our perspective we have never built a petrol or diesel vehicle, so Aurrigo is very comfortable with an electric vehicle future. It is incredible how far the technology, infrastrutucre and vehicles have come in the last 10 years and although there are challenges to oversome, we don’t really see anything as a blocker. ”
Q. What do you think the EV situation will look like in 2030?
A. ”I think it will be exciting, with so many brands still launching their first EV and many still to launch their first bespoke electric vehicle, designed to be electric. We have found that once a vehicle is designed to be electric, not a conversion of a combustion engined product, it really gives some freedom to bring out attributes that would be impossible otherwise. I think we will see more and more niches filled with electric vehicles over the coming seven years.”
Q. Tell us about your company’s latest innovations, vehicles and technology
A. ”This year we have signed a parntership with Changi Airport in Singapore, which has won “Airport of the Year” from Skytrax many times, to demonstrate our baggage transport vehicles there. We have been able to develop and demonstrate our Auto-Dolly Tug and Auto-Dolly vehicles, which are capable of loading themselves with a luggage container, navigating to the aircraft stand and unloading themselves. This unique capability to autonomously load and unload has meant we have had enquiries from all over the world and many delegations have been to Changi Airport to see our technoligy in action.”
Q. What do you see as your company’s greatest opportunity leading up to 2030?
A. ”In aviation there are legal or ESG requirements that are driving a need to eliminate noxious and carbon emissions from ground vehicles, along with a chronic shortage of labour across the world in airports. This presents an opportuntiy for Aurrigo to provide vehicles that are not conversions of existing products, but clean sheet of paper designs, that allow the benefits of autonomy and electrificaiton to be maximised for the customer’s benefit. ”
Q. What is your company’s greatest challenge leading up to 2030?
A. ”As a company that has only built electric vehicles, we don’t have a particular challenge point at 2030, as we are not having to manage the phase out of legacy vehicles in our portfolio, because they have never been there.”
Transport + Energy are the Content Partner for this year’s event and will be on Stand C4-204.
Click here to view the full programme.
Image courtesy of Aurrigo.
