Traffic turnaround
Lidl wants to use autonomous electric shuttle for employees in Baden-Württemberg
In the future, Lidl employees will drive an autonomously driving electric shuttle to the office
© Lidl
It should be a step towards sustainable mobility: Lidl wants to put an autonomous shuttle into operation that will drive its employees in Baden-Württemberg to the office. The electrically powered minibus is scheduled to go into operation in mid-2022.
For the first time, the discounter Lidl wants to put a fully autonomous electric shuttle into operation at its headquarters in Bad Wimpfen, Baden-Württemberg. The minibus is supposed to bring Lidl employees from Bad Wimpfen train station to the office building a good 1.5 kilometers away.
It is a joint research project with the Heilbronn University and the FZI Research Center for Computer Science in Karlsruhe. The shuttle is to be used in a pilot phase in mid-2022. The operation should be “continuously tested and optimized under real conditions”.
The autonomous minibus has a 32 kWh battery, which should create a range of around 70 kilometers or at least three hours of travel time. The battery should be recharged in five to six hours. The maximum speed is specified as 20 km / h. In addition, the electric bus should offer space for six people. Around 1,500 employees have been working at the newly established headquarters since spring 2021.
Lidl pursues “mobility strategy”
Winfried Hermann, Minister of Transport for Baden-Württemberg, who visited the autonomous e-shuttle, says: “Lidl is open to this new technology. I am very pleased. As a state, we are actively promoting the development of self-driving buses and testing their use Pilot projects across the country. “
Matthias Oppitz, CEO of Lidl in Germany, is satisfied with the project. “We are a real pioneer with our electric shuttle. With this pilot project we are making an important contribution as a role model for emission-free mobility in Germany,” said Oppitz.
With its “mobility strategy”, Lidl has set itself the goal of making a contribution to the mobility transition. The discounter chain provides e-charging stations at around 400 branches at which customers can charge their electric cars free of charge. In addition, the discounter has equipped all 39 Lidl regional companies with e-charging stations.
Autonomous shuttle buses on German roads
Lidl claims to be the first company to use a self-driving electric shuttle on public roads to transport employees. However, autonomous shuttles have been on German roads for a long time. Hamburger Hochbahn, for example, put a driverless minibus into operation in HafenCity in October 2020. The research project ended in October 2021. From April to July 2021, the Karlsruher Verkehrsverbund also had three autonomously driving shuttle buses in test use that took passengers to their desired destination. And since the end of February 2020 there has been a line with five autonomous buses in the city of Monheim.
Sources: Lidl press release, Lidl, Press release Hochbahn, Press release City of Monheim, Karlsruhe Transport Association, with material from dpa