The transport and logistics provider has partnered with Konboi, a company specialising in artificial intelligence applied to road transport. In the first phase, four Blondel vehicles will be equipped with Konboi’s Hypermile system, an intelligent cruise-control technology designed to optimise HGV driving in real operating conditions.
If the trial proves successful, Blondel plans a gradual rollout to a further 150 vehicles.
AI system adjusts speed using road and vehicle data
Hypermile is designed to reduce fuel consumption by analysing route and vehicle data in real time. Unlike a conventional cruise-control system, the technology adapts the vehicle’s speed according to several parameters, including road gradient, traffic, transported load, expected slowdowns, tyre pressure and foreseeable events on the route.
According to Groupe Blondel, the aim is to help drivers adopt more efficient driving behaviour while reducing fuel consumption and associated emissions.
Konboi says the difference between a high-consuming and low-consuming truck can be as much as 25% in fuel use. Its founder and CEO, Pejvan Beigui, said the company’s aim with Hypermile is to raise the average level of driving performance and generate savings at fleet scale.
For a truck covering around 10,000 kilometres per month, Konboi estimates that a fuel saving of about 10% could avoid up to 22 tonnes of CO₂ per year per vehicle, depending on operating conditions.
Jérôme Juteau, CEO of Groupe Blondel, said the company’s responsibility was to anticipate changes in transport rather than undergo them, adding that the partnership would allow Blondel to test a technology aimed directly at reducing its environmental impact. If the results are achieved, he said, the group could consider a larger-scale deployment across its fleet.
Autonomous truck prototype could form second phase
Beyond the Hypermile trial, the partnership could open the way to a second phase focused on autonomous vehicle technology.
Konboi is currently developing a prototype designed to gradually increase the level of autonomy of heavy goods vehicles, particularly on motorway routes. According to Groupe Blondel, the aim is not to replace drivers entirely, but to develop an “augmented human” model in which artificial intelligence could handle certain repetitive or less complex sections of a route.
Under this model, the driver would remain central to operations, including first- and last-mile driving, supervision, customer interactions and higher-value parts of the job.
Beigui said the company was not talking about the complete replacement of humans, but about allowing AI to drive in certain conditions, such as on motorways, so that drivers could focus on the first and last kilometres.
Groupe Blondel said the partnership reflects its view that the environmental transition in road transport will depend not only on changes in vehicle powertrains, but also on onboard intelligence, data and more precise optimisation of vehicle use.