Electric vehicle (EV) startup Canoo and Walmart have completed a pilot program in which Canoo’s Lifestyle Delivery Vehicles (LDVs) were used to make last-mile deliveries in the Dallas-Fort Worth area for Walmart’s eCommerce business.
Based on experience gathered during this real-word deployment, the companies have finalized the configuration of the vehicles that are to be used for InHome delivery from Walmart stores to customers’ homes, according to a Tuesday (Aug. 23) press release.
“Our LDV has been engineered to enable a wide range of package deliveries, including refrigerated items, groceries and general merchandise — and do it efficiently, emission free and with a high level of driver comfort and ergonomics,” Canoo Investor, Chairman and CEO Tony Aquila said in the release.
Canoo vehicles feature a platform that frees up more usable space for the cabin and cargo area and are engineered to meet the demands of stop-and-go deliveries. They also have a smaller footprint that allows for parking in driveways and maneuverability that eases driving on narrow roads, per the press release.
“And we have been turning a lot of heads in the neighborhoods when driving by in our uniquely identified vehicles,” Aquila said in the release.
The real-world deliveries began within two weeks of Canoo and Walmart InHome signing an agreement in which Walmart will purchase 4,500 LDVs.
Beyond that, Walmart could purchase as many as 10,000 LDVs as part of the retailer’s ongoing effort to expand its delivery services, Canoo said in a July release.
Read more: Walmart Agrees to Buy 4,500 Electric Vans from Canoo
That announcement came about six months after Walmart said that it was expanding its InHome delivery service to 30 million U.S. households and hiring 3,000 associate drivers by the end of 2022.
Walmart rival Amazon rolled out its first EVs in February, using all-electric vans that are the product of a partnership between Amazon and EV maker Rivian.
Read more: Amazon Expands EV Deliveries to 9 New Cities
As of July 21, Amazon was making deliveries with EVs in at least nine U.S. cities.
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