Gatik, a technology company deploying autonomous vehicles for B2B short-haul middle-mile logistics, today announced a multi-year partnership with Loblaw Companies Limited to deploy a fleet of autonomous delivery vehicles in Toronto, Ontario.

Beginning in January, Gatik will provide Loblaw with a reliable, contactless delivery solution for transporting multi-temperature goods from its automated picking facility to retail locations across the Greater Toronto Area. This deployment marks the first autonomous delivery fleet in Canada.

The announcement follows the successful completion of a 10-month on-road pilot in Toronto, with one autonomous delivery vehicle. To meet Loblaw’s unique retailing needs, Gatik upfits Ford Transit 350 box trucks with refrigeration units, lift gates, and its proprietary autonomous self-driving software for urban, suburban and highway driving. Gatik will be operating its vehicles, five in total, for Loblaw up to seven days a week, 12 hours a day, on five routes operating on public roads with fixed pick-up and drop-off locations.

All vehicles will have a safety driver as a co-pilot.

To date, Gatik has completed more than 30,000 revenue-generating autonomous orders for multiple customers across North America.