ASDA today launched self-driving grocery deliveries for 72,000 households in west London, as part of a trial that could be a first step towards nationwide autonomous supermarket deliveries.
The Issa brothers-owned supermarket giant will partner with self-driving car tech startup Wayve as part of a 12-month trial for customers of the Park Royal ASDA Superstore.
While the vehicles used for deliveries will drive themselves, both an ASDA employee and a Wayve safety driver will still be in the car, with the ASDA employee unloading the groceries.
“We’re excited to partner with Asda on the largest urban autonomous grocery delivery trial in Europe,” Wayve CEO Alex Kendall said. “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.”
Simon Gregg, vice president of eCommerce at Asda, said that if the trial is a success, the partnership could be rolled out elsewhere.
“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.
