Toronto area residents may soon see driverless trucks carrying goods for Loblaw, Canada’s largest retailer. 

Gatik and Loblaw have signed a five-year agreement to deploy Gatik’s autonomous fleet across Loblaw’s distribution network in the Greater Toronto Area.

While most autonomous truck development has focused on hub-to-hub, mostly highway routes, Gatik has taken a different approach, focusing on high-frequency transportation networks within strategically defined, commercially dense areas.

As part of the multi-year agreement, Loblaw has made a strategic investment in Gatik, with an initial deployment of 50 autonomous trucks.

Under the initial phase of the expansion, 20 autonomous trucks equipped with Gatik’s next-generation sensor suite will be deployed by the end of 2025. Another 30 autonomous trucks will be deployed by the end of 2026, creating a scalable platform for future growth phases.

The new fleet will include cold-chain-ready vehicles optimized for the movement of time-sensitive grocery and household items.

The expanded fleet will initially be deployed with safety drivers onboard, before transitioning to Freight-Only (driverless) operations across Loblaw’s regional distribution networks in the GTA, delivering goods to over 300 Loblaw stores.

Biggest Planned Roll-Out of Autonomous Trucks

According to a press release from the two companies, this growth agreement signifies the largest planned roll-out of autonomous trucks in North America.

The announcement said the move transitions Gatik and Loblaw from initial deployment to commercial operations at scale.

Gatik and Loblaw previously made history in 2022 with the deployment of Canada’s first driverless commercial fleet.

“This is a transformational moment, not just for Gatik and Loblaw, but for the autonomous trucking sector globally,” said Gautam Narang, CEO and co-founder of Gatik.

“It’s the first time a major retailer has transitioned from pilot to commercial scale with autonomous trucks, directly addressing Canada’s growing driver shortage, delivering the true benefits of autonomous logistics — reliability, safety and scalability — to millions of Canadians.”

He called Loblaw’s investment “a powerful endorsement” of Gatik’s AI Driver, purpose-built technology that has logged extensive miles on public roads.

“It underscores our commitment to revolutionizing regional distribution through intelligent, autonomous solutions.”

Loblaw said the move represents a significant step forward in its commitment to innovation and supply chain sustainability,

“Autonomous logistics will enable us to move more orders more frequently for our customers,” said Rob Wiebe, Chief Administrator of Loblaw Companies Limited.

Working With Government Officials

Gatik worked closely with the Ministry of Transportation of Ontario to inform the development of the Automated Commercial Motor Vehicle (ACMV) Pilot Program, a new provincial regulatory framework that enables the operation of Gatik’s medium-duty (Class 6-7) autonomous trucks on all surface streets and highways in the province. 

With the ACMV Program now in effect, Gatik and Loblaw are well-positioned to continue to scale autonomous driving operations, according to the announcement.

The ACMV Program has been carefully developed to enable the safe and rapid roll-out of autonomous trucks in Ontario.

Gatik’s autonomous trucks are commercially deployed in multiple markets, including Texas, Arkansas, Arizona, and Ontario. Gatik partners with industry leaders, including Isuzu Motors, NVIDIA, Cummins, Ryder, and Goodyear. 

Founded in 2017 by veterans of the autonomous technology industry, the company has offices in Mountain View, Dallas-Fort Worth, Phoenix, Bentonville, and Toronto.

Loblaw Companies Limited is Canada’s largest retailer, offering grocery, pharmacy and healthcare services, other health and beauty products, apparel, general merchandise, financial services, and wireless mobile products and services.