Walmart to test self-driving cars in multiple cities with Ford and Argo AI

September 16, 2021: -Walmart is expanding its self-driving vehicle program to include Ford Motor and Argo AI, an autonomous car start-up backed by the automaker.

The companies said Wednesday that the collaboration would use Ford Escape hybrids with Argo AI technology for Walmart deliveries in Miami, the District of Columbia, and Austin, Texas.

The program permits Walmart customers to place groceries and other items online for autonomous door-to-door delivery.

“We’re excited to expand our autonomous delivery efforts in three new markets alongside Argo and Ford,” said Tom Ward, Walmart’s U.S. senior vice president of last-mile delivery, in a statement. “This collaboration will further our mission to get products to the customer homes with unparalleled pace and ease, and in return, will keep paving the way for autonomous delivery.”

Ford and Walmart have operated a pilot program with self-driving vehicles in 2018. The retail giant operates self-driving delivery pilots with Gatik and General Motors-backed Cruise currently. In addition to the partnerships, Walmart has taken an undisclosed stake this year in Cruise.

Online grocery orders are a central part of Walmart+, the big-box retailer’s membership program launched a year. One of the perks of the program is free, unlimited grocery deliveries to members’ homes. The subscription service is competing with Amazon Prime.

Walmart, the largest grocer of the nation, saw dramatic growth in online sales during the pandemic as more consumers stayed at home and replenished their fridges from the couch. Its e-commerce sales in the U.S. grew 79% in the last year, which finished on January 31. Yet, Walmart has not turned a profit with its e-commerce business, putting pressure on the company to develop more cost-effective ways to deliver boxes and armfuls of items to doors.

The collaboration is the first multicity service related to autonomous vehicles for Walmart. Bryan Salesky, Argo AI founder and CEO, said it focuses on three cities that will show “the potential for autonomous vehicle delivery services at scale.”

In the starting, the companies will deploy a fleet in each of the three cities, with the plan to expand with time, according to an Argo AI spokeswoman. Argo AI, which Ford owns with German automaker Volkswagen jointly, is testing self-driving vehicles in the three cities and others.

Commercializing autonomous vehicles has been far challenging than many predicted, even before a few years. The challenges have led to a consolidation in the independent vehicle sector after years of enthusiasm touting the technology as the coming multitrillion-dollar market for transportation companies.

Some companies, like Uber Technologies, have given up on developing the systems in-house, while others, such as Zoox, sold to Amazon. Waymo remains the highest-profile front-runner, which operates a public autonomous vehicle fleet in Arizona.