German supermarket chain Rewe has announced it is trialling grocery deliveries using autonomous vehicles in the city of Bochum.

Rewe claims the pilot, which will last for six months, marks the first time that a highly automated vehicle has been used in German grocery retail operations.

The Volkswagen ID Buzz, the vehicle being used for the trial, will be accompanied by a safety driver who sits in the van during the trip and can intervene if needed.

Rewe said the vehicle is classed as a Level 4 autonomous vehicle, meaning that on certain routes it can drive independently and in theory could operate without a safety person onboard.

The vehicle uses digital driver software which combines AI with modern sensors to enable fast data processing which allows the van to operate automatically on public roads.

The pilot project is being conducted in partnership with Swiss technology company LOXO and Bochum’s economic development agency.

The pilot vehicle is fully integrated into REWE’s existing delivery infrastructure, with Rewe adding that the delivery routes are planned manually and managed via its e-commerce systems.

During the trial, Rewe said it wants to understand what levels of autonomy are realistically possible whilst ensuring delivery capacity is as high as possible.

Kai-Uwe Reimers, head of research & innovation at Rewe digital, said that the pilot will allow the company to identify and develop the technology and adapt it before wider implementation.

“With this pilot project, we are once again pioneers in Germany and are setting another milestone in the digitisation and automation of our processes,” he added. “With our pilot vehicle, we want to test how highly automated vehicles can usefully complement our existing delivery processes.”

---