Ford And Walmart Launch Autonomous Delivery Pilot Program In Three American Cities

Ford and the autonomous technology company it backs, Argo AI, announced today that they have partnered with Walmart to start a pilot program for autonomous delivery vehicles in Miami, Florida, Austin, Texas, and Washington, D.C.

The program is Walmart’s first multi-city autonomous delivery collaboration in the U.S. and will use Ford vehicles equipped with Argo AI’s self-driving technology.

“Our focus on the testing and development of self-driving technology that operates in urban areas where customer demand is high really comes to life with this collaboration,” said Bryan Salesky, founder and CEO of Argo AI. “Working together with Walmart and Ford across three markets, we’re showing the potential for autonomous vehicle delivery services at scale.”

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The service will be available to Walmart customers within defined service areas in the three cities and will expand over time. As consumers increasingly expect next-day deliveries, the retailer says this will drive key lessons in how autonomous technology can enhance customer experiences, while also optimizing logistics and operations.

“We’re excited to expand our autonomous delivery efforts in three new markets alongside Argo and Ford,” said Tom Ward, senior vice president of last-mile delivery, Walmart U.S. “This collaboration will further our mission to get products to the homes of our customers with unparalleled speed and ease, and in turn, will continue to pave the way for autonomous delivery.”

Ford and Argo, meanwhile, see this as an opportunity to harvest more data for their self-driving programs.

“Argo and Ford are aggressively preparing for large-scale autonomous vehicle operations across a broad footprint of U.S. cities,” said Scott Griffith, CEO, Ford Autonomous Vehicles & Mobility Businesses. “Pairing Walmart’s retail and e-commerce leadership with Argo and Ford’s self-driving operations across these multiple cities marks a significant step toward scaling a commercial goods delivery service that will ultimately power first-to-scale business efficiencies and enable a great consumer experience.”

Argo AI already tests autonomous vehicles in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, Detroit, Michigan, and Palo Alto, California. It has also been operating in Miami and Washington, D.C. since 2018 with ride-hailing services.