Lidl puts cabless, driverless lorry on German roads as Spain watches

If you shop at Lidl in Spain, there is a good chance you have never given much thought to how the products on those shelves actually get there. Behind every supermarket is a huge delivery operation, with lorries constantly moving goods between warehouses and stores. But Lidl has just started testing something in Germany that could eventually change the way some of those journeys are made.

Even though the experiment is taking place elsewhere, it involves a major change to the way Lidl moves its products, and the results could be worth watching for anyone who regularly shops at the supermarket.

Lidl is testing a very different kind of delivery

The German trial involves a cabless electric truck that drives itself, operating on public roads between Lidl’s distribution centre in Edermünde, near Kassel, and a nearby store. There is no driver or safety operator sitting inside the vehicle and the truck operates at SAE Level 4, allowing it to drive autonomously within the conditions covered by its official approval. This is not a closed-course demonstration, the vehicle is literally carrying Lidl’s goods as part of an actual delivery operation.

It can transport 15 Euro pallets and make up to three trips each day. During the four-month project, Lidl expects more than 3,000 pallets to be transported using the vehicle. The German Federal Motor Transport Authority, known as the KBA, has authorised the operation. According to Lidl and Einride, this is the first permit of its kind in Germany for a cabless Level 4 autonomous truck operating on public roads.

Could Spain eventually see the same thing?

Whilst there is currently no announcement that Lidl is bringing these trucks here. The German project is a trial designed to establish how autonomous freight works in a real retail environment. Lidl is using the route to gather practical experience before considering how the technology could be developed further and which countries will benefit from it.

Another reason the trial is also worth watching in Spain, is because Lidl has a large network of supermarkets and distribution centres. Any decision to expand autonomous deliveries in the future would depend on the technology, the results of trials such as this one and the regulatory framework in each country. For now the, Spanish Lidl customers won’t suddenly find a driverless lorry arriving at their local store,

Lidl wants to take the trial further

The current journey is relatively simple, taking goods from the distribution centre to a nearby shop. The next stage could be more complicated. Lidl and Einride plan to develop the route towards a so called multi-stop “milkrun” model, in which one autonomous vehicle can serve several locations during a single operation.

Lidl also says further deployments involving companies within the Schwarz Group are being discussed. That would move the technology beyond a single delivery route and towards a much larger logistics operation.

Who is Einride?

Einride is a Swedish transport company that specialises in electric and autonomous freight. For Einride, the Lidl project represents an important step because the technology is being used for commercial deliveries on public roads rather than simply demonstrated in controlled conditions.

For Lidl on the other hand, the project provides a chance to see whether autonomous electric transport can become a practical part of its supply chain. There is still a long way to go before anything similar appears on Spanish roads, but Lidl has now put the technology into a real supermarket delivery operation, and what happens in Germany could help determine whether this remains a small experiment or becomes something much bigger.