Walmart to buy electric vehicle fleet for last-mile deliveries
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Photo courtesy of Canoo Inc.
Walmart has a definitive agreement to buy 4,500 electric delivery vehicles from Canoo, the two companies announced Tuesday morning.
- The EV maker revealed last year it was relocating its headquarters to Bentonville.
Why it matters: Farmers, contractors and delivery companies — not individual consumers — will lead America into the electric vehicle era, Axios' Joann Muller wrote earlier this year.
- Yes, and: Using EVs for last-mile deliveries — from store to door — will help Walmart get closer to its goal of zero emissions by 2040.
Details: Walmart will begin with Canoo's Lifestyle Delivery Vehicle (LDV), a commercial unit built for frequent stop-and-go travel.
- The LDV is designed for small package delivery and has 120 cubic feet of cargo space. That's comparable to a 2021 Chevy Tahoe, Ford Expedition Max or Toyota Sequoia.
- Canoo says the vehicle is modular, so Walmart can adapt it for specific needs.
Between the lines: Financial terms of the deal aren't being disclosed, but a contract Canoo has with NASA to build two rugged, custom astronaut transports is valued at nearly $150,000.
- Walmart has the option to purchase up to 10,000 Canoo units as part of the new agreement.
Flashback: The agreement may provide Canoo some needed juice.
- The publicly traded company warned investors in May that "substantial doubt exists about the company's ability to continue as a going concern," per a financial filing — meaning the EV maker needed more capital to stay afloat.
- And just recently, the company said its planned manufacturing plant in Pryor, Oklahoma, could be delayed, citing supply chain issues.
What they're saying: "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," said David Guggina, senior vice president of innovation and automation at Walmart U.S.
What to watch: The companies will put the LDV into service in the Dallas-Fort Worth metro to finalize its configuration in "the coming weeks," Canoo said in a news release.
- It'll be 2023 before they're used more widely.
Disclosure: Reporter Worth Sparkman is a Walmart shareholder.