Waymo partners with Walmart to shuttle customers in self-driving cars

The hubcap of a Jaguar I-Pace with Waymo autonomous electric vehicle (EV) is seen during an event in New York, U.S., on Tuesday, March 27, 2018. Photographer: Mark Kauzlarich/Bloomberg (Mark Kauzlarich/Bloomberg)

by Hamza Shaban July 25 at 9:24 AM Email the author

Alphabet’s Waymo announced Wednesday that it will begin a pilot program with Walmart to shuttle customers to and from stores to pick up their groceries. The new initiative is part of a series of partnerships with companies to offer customers self-driving cars to run errands and shop.

Customers in Phoenix who order groceries on Walmart.com, will receive savings on their goods, and as their orders are put together at the store, autonomous Waymo vehicles will take customers to and from Walmart.

Waymo will also partner with AutoNation, Avis, DDR Corp. and Element Hotel, offering their self-driving cars to customers who do business with those companies.

“We’ve tailored our partnerships to meet the top rider needs,” Waymo said in a blog post. “While these are Metro Phoenix-specific partnerships today, these businesses are national and what we learn from these programs will give us a network of partners when we launch in new cities down the road.”

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