HERE brings AI route intelligence to IAA Transportation 2026

HERE Technologies is using IAA Transportation 2026 in Hannover to demonstrate a suite of AI-powered routing and decision-support capabilities aimed at logistics operators and fleet managers. The company says its platform can help transportation teams adapt in real time when planned routes are disrupted by traffic, driver availability issues, carrier problems or last-minute order changes.

The showcase centres on three connected capabilities: a time and constraint-dependent route solver that adjusts for changing road and operational conditions; a last-metre delivery guidance module that captures driver and delivery feedback at the point of execution; and an AI reasoning layer that explains optimisation decisions and surfaces actionable adjustments for dispatch teams. HERE will also demonstrate a transport-specific AI agent designed to identify the safest, most compliant and most productive route for heavy vehicles, providing dispatchers with a higher degree of confidence when planning complex operations.

The platform

Bart Coppelmans, Senior Director of Product Management at HERE Technologies, said the aim is to move beyond better planning. "By combining commercial vehicle routing, driver feedback and location-aware AI reasoning, HERE helps fleets and logistics providers make more confident decisions from planning through execution," he said.

The company reports that its API already routes approximately 225 billion kilometres of truck traffic per month across more than 90 countries, and its data underpins a number of transport management systems. The platform is positioned as flexible enough to deploy across varied business applications, data environments and AI architectures, while allowing customers to retain control of their operational data. HERE did not disclose specific customers by name in its release, nor did it provide pricing or contract terms for the new AI capabilities.

Market context

The logistics software market is increasingly contested. Established transport management system vendors such as Oracle, SAP and Blue Yonder compete with route-optimisation specialists, while a wave of AI-native startups is targeting the same dispatch and last-mile efficiency problems. The broad availability of large language models has made it easier to build AI reasoning layers on top of existing routing engines, raising the competitive bar for established mapping and location data providers.

HERE's positioning as a neutral, API-first location intelligence layer is notable in a market where hyperscalers are also pushing into logistics data services. The company's global commercial vehicle coverage and its long-standing relationships with automotive OEMs give it a credible differentiation story, though how durable that advantage remains as AI tooling commoditises routing logic is a question the market has not yet settled.

Regulatory pressure is also shaping the sector. The EU's road transport digitalisation agenda, combined with tachograph reform and emissions compliance requirements under Euro VII, is pushing fleet operators toward more sophisticated, data-driven planning tools. Any AI-powered routing product sold into European markets will need to demonstrate alignment with these frameworks, as well as with the EU AI Act's transparency requirements for high-impact automated decision systems.

Conference programme

HERE will host two sessions at the event. On 15 September, an Industry Stage panel titled "From Data to Decisions: How Location Intelligence Is Transforming Truck Mobility" will include participants from Daimler Truck and AiDEN Auto, moderated by ABI Research. On 16 September, HERE will join connected vehicle software firm WirelessCar for a Main Stage session on AI and logistics process optimisation. The company's booth is located in Hall 13, where it will run live demonstrations across fleet optimisation, shipment visibility and next-generation logistics workflows.