Asda has teamed up with a tech startup to use self-driving vehicles to deliver groceries to customers.
The supermarket giant, owned by the Issa brothers, says the partnership with Wayve will help it to create the largest trial of its kind in the UK.
The year-long trial will cover a catchment area of more than 170,000 residents across 72,000 households in West London, around its Park Royal superstore.
From this week, Wayve self-driving vehicles will join Asda’s existing online delivery arm at the store. Customers will order as normal but could be randomly selected to have their order delivered in a self-driving vehicle.
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Over the year-long trial, an Asda worker and a supervising Wayve safety driver will be in each vehicle when making deliveries. The Asda worker will unload the groceries when they arrive at the customer’s home.
Wayve and Asda have been working together for two years to develop this autonomous vehicle system. It means the driving technology is already integrated into Asda’s operations.
Simon Gregg, vice president of eCommerce at Asda, said: “Asda has long understood the value of bringing tech innovation to the online grocery sector and we are always looking at new and innovative partnerships to improve delivery options for customers. We believe autonomous technology is an exciting opportunity to shape the future of delivery, not only at our Park Royal store but throughout our nationwide operation.
“Through our partnership with Wayve, we are trialling this technology to understand how it can assist our busy store operations, whilst also adding a unique, reliable and efficient option for Asda customers to have a whole range of products delivered to their doors.”
Alex Kendall, co-founder & CEO at Wayve, said: “We’re excited to partner with Asda on the largest urban autonomous grocery delivery trial in Europe. The trial is a demonstration of how autonomy can meet fleet owner needs. We started developing our AV technology over five years ago: it’s incredible to see it delivering real value today as part of Asda’s daily operations.
“We value our work with Asda to build the foundations of future autonomous grocery delivery. Trials like this one accelerate our road to deployment. They provide the learnings required to bring the benefits of AV technology to customers sooner while ensuring that businesses, like Asda, are prepared to deploy AVs at scale.”
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