Waymo Walmart run for desert customers
Alphabet’s Waymo is starting trials to ferry shoppers to Walmart stores in the Phoenix metro area.
Shoppers will order groceries on Walmart.com. and as their order is being prepared, self-driving cars will transport them to the store and bring them back, Waymo said on Wednesday.
The futuristic car company also has teamed up with Ohio-based DDR Corp., a US shopping center owner, to offer consumers back-and-forth rides to a mall in the desert region.
Additionally, Waymo has expanded its existing partnerships with AutoNation and Avis Budget in Phoenix. AutoNation will offer customers a Waymo, rather than a loaner car, to get around while their personal vehicles get serviced.
Avis Budget Group, which keeps Waymo vehicles charged and refueled for an upcoming ride, will provide its customers these self-driving vehicles as a last-mile solution to help them pick up or drop off their rental cars.
Waymo, which has been developing autonomous vehicle technology for nine years, with testing on 5 million miles of public roads, is considered to be ahead of its rivals.
Global automakers, suppliers and tech companies like Waymo and Uber are pouring resources into such systems and launching networks of test fleets aimed at pushing the technology forward.
The complex challenges of self-driving cars and the high costs of research and development have led to a host of partnerships between automakers, suppliers and others.