Asda uses self-driving Wayve vehicles to deliver online shopping in new trial

Asda has launched a new home delivery trial using self-driving vehicles to deliver shopping to customers’ homes. In partnership with Wayve - a vehicle technology start-up - Asda’s  year-long trial will give the supermarket the ability to autonomously deliver groceries without needing a driver.

During the 12-month trial an Asda colleague and supervising Wayve safety driver will be in the vehicle when making deliveries. Asda colleagues will load and unload the groceries at the customer’s home, but they will be transported from the store to the door in a self-driving vehicle.

Simon Gregg, senior vice president of eCommerce at Asda, said: “Asda has long understood the value of bringing tech innovation to the online grocery sector and we are always looking at new and innovative partnerships to improve delivery options for customers. We believe autonomous technology is an exciting opportunity to shape the future of delivery, not only at our Park Royal store but throughout our nationwide operation.

“Through our partnership with Wayve, we are trialling this technology to understand how it can assist our busy store operations, whilst also adding a unique, reliable and efficient option for Asda customers to have a whole range of products delivered to their doors.”

Asda is the UK’s second largest online supermarket, with over 20% of the market and delivers more than 800k orders every week. This is the first trial in the UK that can launch directly into commercial operations, without diverging from the operation of the store’s online delivery processes.

Meanwhile, the trial enables integration of Wayve’s automated driving technology into Asda’s daily operations. Wayve’s ‘AV2.0’ solution uses machine learning to train its AI software to learn from experience how to drive in any environment.