Kroger testing self-driving cars in Texas

The Cincinnati-based grocer will now be testing its Nuro autonomous grocery delivery vehicles at two Kroger stores in Houston. The partnership with robotics company Nuro has been underway since August in Scottsdale, Ariz.

Kroger’s autonomous delivery has successfully completed thousands of deliveries in Scottsdale.

“We’ve seen first-hand in Arizona how enthusiastic customers are about getting their Kroger groceries delivered by a Nuro self-driving vehicle,” said Nuro co-founder Dave Ferguson. “Texas has been a leader in encouraging self-driving innovation, and we’re excited to help deliver that future for Houston — a dynamic, diverse, and welcoming metropolitan city that we’re excited to soon explore and serve with this autonomous delivery service.”

Nuro’s delivery fee is $5.95 with no minimum order and shoppers can schedule same-day or next-day delivery beginning this spring in Houston with expectation to expand.

Dayton, Ohio-area cities have been working to become autonomous vehicle friendly, with both Dayton and Springboro, Ohio, in talks with the DriveOhio program to integrate autonomous technology into area commutes.

“It’s always been our shared vision to scale this initiative to new markets, using world-changing technology to enable a new type of delivery service for our customers,” said Yael Cosset, Kroger’s chief digital officer.