Trucksters, a Spanish road freight operator which has disrupted the long-haul sector with the use of AI and big data, has closed a Series B round of €33 million. The new capital injection, backed up by new and existing investors, will be used to fulfil some of the company’s strategic objectives including electrifying its routes, potentially making Trucksters the first electric long-haul operator in Europe.
The new investment will back other key developments including growing and strengthening the IT and management teams, and opening new international corridors, improvements which will support the firm’s overall goal of improving the working conditions of drivers whilst delivering efficient transport solutions for its clients.
The new round is backed by new investors including Continental’s Corporate Venture Capital Unit, Volvo Group Venture Capital, part of the Swedish multinational vehicle manufacturer, the European Investment Bank (EIB), and FondICO, Spain’s “fund of funds.”
Luis Bardají, co-founder and CEO of Trucksters says: “When we created Trucksters we never imagined that, only after a few years, we would be in a position to sign a partnership with flagship companies like Volvo Group and Continental. Having them as our shareholders is a dream: safety, focusing on drivers, sustainability, and electrification are some of the hallmarks of both companies and the reasons why Trucksters was created in the first place.”
Bardají also explains that the partnership is key to the development of Trucksters as it will help them “learn from them and their legacy. We can’t wait to start this new stage together.”
The funding received from the EIB is part of European InvestEU, an investment programme focused on the EU’s shared priorities which include ‘Innovation, digitisation and human capital,’ climate action and environmental sustainability, all of which are key to Trucksters’ business strategy.
“We are pleased to collaborate with Trucksters through this investment with our InvestEU programme, which helps accelerate the transition to sustainable, efficient and innovative transport models. As a bank focused on addressing the world’s climate challenges, we are very proud to support initiatives aimed at decarbonizing transport, in line with our financing policies for the sector. This investment also will help boost Spain and the EU’s digital transition in,” stresses Ricardo Mourinho Félix, vice-president of the EIB.
Existing investors include the international funds Amplifier VC and Metavallon VC, as well as the Spanish funds Big Sur Ventures, Bonsai Partners, Kibo Ventures, and The Valley VC. Also Sacha Michaud, co-founder of Glovo and member of the Board of Directors as Non-Executive Chairman, is investing again in this round.
Continental’s Corporate Venture Capital Unit is participating in this new round for the first time. Jürgen Bilo, managing director of Continental’s Corporate Venture Capital Unit explains: “Investing in Trucksters is in line with our vision of the future of mobility; embracing innovative data-driven fleet management solutions, ensuring operational efficiency, whilst driving sustainable growth. We are convinced that the Trucksters model will revolutionize fleet management and shape the future of transportation.”
Martin Witt, president of Volvo Group Venture Capital, agrees: “We are impressed by what Trucksters has already accomplished and see that the Volvo Group can help add strategic value to the development of their business. With a growing need for freight transportation, relay systems can provide a solid structure for electrification of long-haul transportation as well as for autonomous solutions in the future.”
Trucksters had previously raised €14.3 million when it closed a Series A round in March last year, as well as €6.3 million in July 2021. Founded in 2018, the company posted a record annual revenue figure of €30 million in 2022, which was a 300% increase from 2021 (up four times from last year).
With an equally impressive annual sales growth of 300% in 2022, one of the key factors in the company’s success has been targeting large clients with a high growth capacity, providing them with fast and reliable solutions such as increasing the size of their fleet to support high demand. For example, in 2022, Trucksters managed to increase its fleet three times, overcoming significant challenges such as Europe’s severe driver shortage.
Trucksters is already present in Spain, Belgium, Germany and Poland, and operating in seven countries: the Netherlands, Germany, Belgium, Poland, the United Kingdom, France, and Spain.
The company has managed to deliver airline-like efficiency in four corridors: the Central/Northern Spain connected to Dortmund, the Spanish Levante connected to Benelux and West Germany, the Levante to Poland and the latest opening this year, its new corridor for Central Spain connected to UK, Trucksters’ first corridor outside the EU, linking Barcelona and Northern Spain to the UK in 28 – 34 hours, 50% faster than current road-transport times.
The company plans to become one of the first long-haul freight operators to use electric vehicles by the end of 2023. The company, also one of the first operators to pursue the goal of zero emissions, will soon start using several electric trucks, increasing the number of electric vehicles throughout the year, aiming to reach its goal of fully-electrifying one of its routes by 2023, at the very least. Trucksters’ transport service helps drivers sleep more nights at home, as they only drive sections of a longer route. At relay points, they swap semitrailers to drive other goods in the opposite direction. Thanks to these relays, drivers’ quality of life is improved, while delivering a faster, more cost-efficient service for its clients.
