Chevrolet BrightDrop 400 electric vans are hitting the road in major US markets this year to support Walmart’s InHome delivery service. The addition of BrightDrop vans to the Walmart last-mile fleet will support growth of the retailer’s InHome delivery service, help reduce carbon emissions, and provide drivers with safe, efficient, and comfortable vehicles.
Walmart InHome associates, who are trained to deliver groceries directly into customers’ homes, participated in a pilot with GM to assess the overall performance of the BrightDrop 400 in live operation scenarios, including city driving and customer deliveries. Associates were impressed with BrightDrop’s 360-degree HD Surround Vision camera and blind-zone steering assist, battery range and reliability, and maneuverability. Some key takeaways from the pilot:
- The vans easily navigated congested roads and dense neighborhoods.
- Automation features such as auto-closing doors boosted efficiency and improved the associate experience.
- The low-step ergonomic design allowed easy entrance and exit of the vehicles, allowing for swift and efficient last-mile deliveries.
Walmart, which is expanding of its InHome delivery program to 62 million households nationwide, will roll out the BrightDrop 400 vans in Austin, Dallas, Denver, Detroit, northwest Arkansas, Orlando, and the San Francisco Bay area by the end of the year.
BrightDrop electric vans, produced at the CAMI Assembly plant, are equipped with advanced safety features to help ensure driver alertness and safety, low step-in height to ease driver ingress and egress and large infotainment screens for a tech-enabled driving experience.
