Rewe Tests Autonomous Delivery Vehicles in Bochum

According to Rewe, this marks the first time a grocery retailer in Germany is trialing food deliveries with a Level 4 autonomous vehicle. The vehicle drives independently but is monitored by a safety driver who can intervene if necessary. The pilot aims to explore how a technically autonomous, high-capacity delivery service can be implemented in practice.

Rewe is conducting the trial in collaboration with Swiss technology partner Loxo. The goal is to gather insights into both technical and economically relevant metrics, such as the feasible level of autonomy.

The pilot vehicle is integrated into Rewe’s existing delivery infrastructure. Routes are planned manually and managed via Rewe’s own e-commerce systems. For customers, nothing changes: they continue to place orders through the Rewe delivery service as usual, and the safety driver handles doorstep delivery. The fulfillment center is located in western Bochum, from where the vehicle autonomously navigates surrounding residential areas.

With this pilot project, Rewe is once again taking a pioneering role in Germany and setting another milestone in the digitalization and automation of our processes.

Loxo is responsible for both the vehicle’s software and operational management. The Swiss company uses its proprietary “Digital Driver Software,” which combines advanced artificial intelligence with modern sensor technology. According to Loxo, it was the first company in Europe to deploy Level 4 autonomous vehicles without safety drivers on public roads for commercial use in 2023.