Ford-Walmart self-driving delivery alliance: a "safer bet" that could pay off

Ford engine (F), Walmart (WMT) and the Postmates delivery company are joining together to test grocery deliveries with the help of autonomous cars.

X

Ford has already worked with Postmates and Domino's Pizza (DPZ) on delivery via autonomous vehicles.

For the Walmart pilot program, Ford cars will be driven manually, like previous programs with Domino's and Postmates, said a spokesman for Ford in an email.

Ford previously stated that its self-driving delivery test cars had a manual driver, but "appeared to be driving independently" to see how businesses and consumers interacted with such a vehicle. Ford says it is developing its autonomous driving technology in separate test vehicles.

The Ford-Walmart alliance will allow the automaker to explore how self-driving vehicles can provide everything from pet diapers, pet food and personal care items to Miami customers.

Together, the two companies will study the changes to be made to driverless vehicles to preserve the freshness of perishable products, said Brian Wolf, director of business development for Ford Autonomous Vehicles, in an article in the Medium blog.

Ford-Walmart Alliance A "safer bet"

An analyst at Edmunds said Ford's partnership with the world's largest retailer showed that it was doubling its business in the area of ​​autonomous driving technology. He called Ford Walmart a "safer bet" for the automaker, but that could pay off in the end.

"Solving business problems is much easier than commuters, and is most likely the area in which standalone technology will take off first," said Jeremy Acevedo, head of industrial analysis at Edmunds. "People may not want to trust an autonomous car to take them somewhere, but if the car is going to bring them things and make their lives easier, the technology suddenly becomes a lot less scary."

Ford Stock

Shares rose 0.3% to 9.57 on the stock market today. Ford's shares moved sideways, above their 50-day mark, after a post-profit rebound after the nine-year low last month.

Walmart action slipped 0.9%, still in a shopping zone ahead of its gains on Thursday morning. Domino's share rose 0.6%. GM stock lost 1.1%, the stock of the alphabet rose slightly by 0.2%, Fiat Chrysler (FCAU) increased by 1%, and You're here (TSLA) grew by 0.6%.

Ford's auto driving strategy

Ford has focused on the commercial applications of autonomous driving, an unproven and extremely expensive technology. He insists that his goal is to make self-driving cars profitable.

But Ford's self-driving efforts are lower than those of General Motors (GM) and Alphabet Waymo, according to industry experts. More recently, a senior analyst has criticized Ford's self-driving strategy for its lack of transparency and clear enablers.

The Japanese fund SoftBank has invested $ 2.25 billion in GM's autonomous driving unit, Cruise. Ford's Argo AI unit, equipped with autonomous driving assets, has not yet obtained the same recognition.

Alphabet Waymo plans to launch an unmanned robotaxi service by the end of the year. GM has set a similar target for 2019 and Ford for 2021.

YOU MAY BE INTERESTED IN:

How to make electric vehicles profitable when Tesla and GM are looking to build millions

Stock IBD of the day

Best Stocks for Growth to Buy and See: See IBD Stock List Updates

Stocks to buy and monitor: IPOs, large and small caps, growth stocks

The Stampede investment in electric scooters is trying to overcome the rage of the sidewalk