BEIJING (Reuters) – Toyota-backed self driving company Pony.ai said on Friday it would provide an autonomous delivery service to residents of Irvine, California, as demand for online orders surges because of the coronavirus lockdown.
FILE PHOTO: An autonomous vehicle of self-driving car startup Pony.ai is seen during a government-organised tour to the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area, in Guangzhou, Guangdong province, China February 28, 2019. REUTERS/Yuyang Wang
As some 90% of U.S. shoppers are under stay-at-home orders, a jump in demand for package and grocery delivery has left e-commerce platforms struggling to cope.
In response, Amazon has said it plans to hire 75,000 more people for jobs ranging from warehouse staff to delivery drivers.
Pony.ai said in a statement it would use autonomous electric vehicles to deliver packages from local e-commerce platform Yamibuy to customers in Irvine, California, which has a population of more than 200,000.
The autonomous fleet…
Source Reuters Tech News
Source link
