Walmart announced that it has signed a deal with electric mobility company Canoo. The giant multinational retail company purchases 4,500 all-electric Canoo delivery vans. The deal further includes an option to purchase 10,000 more vehicles in the coming years. Canoo is yet to start the delivery vans deliveries.
Walmart stated that the Lifestyle Delivery Vehicles (LDV) will be used for its online deliveries. Moving towards sustainability and adding on to the company’s goal to reduce carbon emissions by 2040. Canoo Mobility announces earlier that the LDV will be on road in 2023. The initial advanced deliveries will be used to “refine and finalize vehicle configuration in the Dallas Fort Worth metroplex in the coming weeks.”
Walmart associates will be using the vehicles for online grocery and general merchandise orders. As the deal extends to 10,000 vehicles, there is a potential for the vans to be in the company’s GoLocal program as well. Senior VP of Innovation and Automation for Walmart, David Guggina said, “We’re thrilled to continue diversifying our last-mile delivery fleet with Canoo’s unique and sustainably focused all-electric technology, which will provide our associates with safe, ergonomic delivery vehicles.”
He further added, “Today, the closest Walmart to customers is right in their pockets – it’s the Walmart app. By continuing to expand our last-mile delivery fleet in a sustainable way, we’re able to provide customers and Walmart+ members with even more access to same-day deliveries while keeping costs low.”
Canoo vans
Canoo, on the other hand, is offering an optimized, sustainable, and commercial LDV design that is suitable for last-mile delivery use cases. “As with all Canoo vehicles, the LDV is built on a proprietary multi-purpose platform (MPP) architecture that integrates the motors, battery module, and other critical driving components,” Canoo describes in the press release.
Canoo has four configurations of the LDV: Delivery, Base, Premium, and Adventure. The Delivery trim level packs 250 miles of range thanks to an 80 kWh battery pack and a 1,464-lb payload. Reports of the deal with Walmart send Canoo stock soaring over 80 percent. At the time of writing, shares were trading at $4.28, up $1.91. Shares closed at $2.37 at the end of Monday’s trading session.
“We are proud to have been selected by Walmart, one of the most sophisticated buyers in the world, to provide our high-tech, all-electric, American-made Lifestyle Delivery Vehicle to add to their impressive logistics capabilities,” CEO of Canoo, Tony Aquila, said. “Our LDV has the turning radius of a small passenger vehicle on a parking-friendly, compact footprint, yet the payload and cargo space of a commercial delivery vehicle. This is the winning algorithm to seriously compete in the last mile delivery race, globally.”