Walmart has signed an agreement with Canoo to purchase 4,500 of their Lifestyle Delivery Vehicles (LDV), with an option to increase that order to 10,000 units.
The first LDVs are expected to be delivered to Walmart in 2023, but the retail giant will take advanced delivery of an unspecified number of electric delivery vehicles in the next few weeks to refine and finalize the design for their specifications.
Walmart says they will use the Canoo LDVs for last-mile delivery of online orders, including groceries and general merchandise, as part of their effort to achieve zero-emissions by 2040. The company might also use the EVs for their delivery-as-a-service business Walmart GoLocal.
“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. 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,” said Tony Aquila, Investor, Chairman and CEO of Canoo.
The Canoo LDVs modular design allows for up to 120 cubic feet of cargo volume, the equivalent of a typical commercial delivery vehicles, but at the same time having a turning radius of a small passenger vehicle.
It is built on a proprietary multi-purpose platform (MPP) architecture that integrates the motors, battery module and other critical driving components.
The EV will be manufactured at the automaker’s facility in Oklahoma, with production slated to begin in Q4 2022.
