Walmart will soon send driverless trucks to North Texas. The retailer announced they would use the new technology to make deliveries to Sam’s Club locations across the region.
Driverless vehicle manufacturer Gatik is partnering with Georgia-Pacific to deliver items such as plates, cups, and toilet paper to 34 locations across DFW starting in July, according to Bloomberg.
This marks a significant expansion of driverless operations, Bloomberg reported. Gatik already handles autonomous service to Walmart facilities in Arkansas and Louisiana.
Gatik has its eyes set on more than North Texas, according to CEO Gautam Narang.
“We’re starting out in the Dallas market, but the focus will be on rolling it out nationwide,” Narang said. “The goal is to disrupt short-haul networks that were traditionally served by trucks with 53-foot trailers.”
On Wednesday, Walmart also announced that it would be expanding its transportation pilot programs with electric, hydrogen, and natural gas-powered vehicle manufacturers, including Daimler and Cummins Inc.
The retail giant aims to achieve zero carbon emissions by 2040 across its global operations, including its fleet of approximately 80,000 trailers and 10,000 tractors.
Still, Walmart’s senior vice president for the United States, Fernando Cortes, stressed that the company is still in the beginning stages of expanding its presence in the commercial EV market.
“We’re still in the testing stage and trying these technologies,” Cortes said. “We know that for us to decarbonize our fleet, there’s no one solution that can get us really to scale, and that’s ready to give us that future that we want.”
Walmart will receive an unspecified number of Cummins 15-liter natural gas engines to install in their trucks. Chevron will supply Walmart with pressurized natural gas for its fleet, Reuters reported.
This summer, Walmart also intends to run a rechargeable batteries pilot program using Freightliner and Nikola Corporation heavy-duty vehicles at one California distribution center.
In January, the retailer announced that it placed an order for 5,000 electric delivery trucks from General Motors subsidiary, Brightdrop.
Walmart Canada placed orders for 130 of the Tesla “Semi” in 2020, but the EV manufacturer has not started production of the trucks.
Cortes said Walmart U.S. is still determining which solutions work best for its fleet.
“We do have the option to purchase Tesla’s electric Semi trucks, but we not have shared any public commitments,” he said.
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