Walmart Partners With Ford And Argo AI To Test Self-Driving Cars In Multiple Cities

Retailing giant Walmart is expanding its self-driving vehicle program and has now partnered with Ford and Argo AI to test a few of the cars in multiple cities across the United States.

Walmart Partners With Ford And Argo AI On Autonomous Cars

Walmart, the leading retailer in the United States, announced earlier today that it has partnered with automobile manufacturer Ford and Argo AI. The partnership will see Walmart work with them in testing its self-driving cars in various cities across the US.

The company stated that the partnership would allow it to use Ford Escape hybrids with Argo AI technology to make deliveries on behalf of Walmart. The test deliveries will be in Miami, the District of Columbia and Austin, Texas.

The program will make it possible for Walmart customers to order groceries and other items online and enjoy door-to-door autonomous delivery. Tom Ward, Walmart United States senior vice president of last-mile delivery, stated that the company is excited to partner with Ford and Argo AI in expanding its autonomous delivery efforts in three new markets. “This collaboration will further our mission to get products to the homes of our customers with unparalleled speed and ease, and in turn, will continue to pave the way for autonomous delivery,” he added.

Walmart and Ford’s partnership goes way back. The two companies partnered to launch a pilot program with self-driving vehicles three years ago. Walmart is currently operating self-driving delivery pilots with Cruise (backed by General Motors) and Gatik.

Although Walmart remains the leading retailer in the United States, it is facing increasing competition from Amazon. JPMorgan has predicted that Amazon will soon surpass Walmart as the leading retailer in the US.

WMT Down By 0.5%

The shares of Walmart are down by 0.5% during Wednesday’s pre-trading session. The decline comes despite the positive news issued by the company. WMT is trading at $144 per share, down by 0.76 points.

Year-to-date, WMT’s performance has remained flat. Walmart’s stock started 2021 trading at $144 per share, and it is now trading at the same price, despite reaching a peak of $151 last month.