Collect&Go, the online grocery service operated by Colruyt Group, has introduced a major leap forward in sustainable last-mile delivery by unveiling a 100% electric unmanned vehicle designed to bring groceries directly to customers’ homes. The pilot project, which will run in Leuven city centre from mid-May through August, represents a historic milestone for Belgium. It is the first time an unmanned delivery vehicle has been permitted to drive on Belgian public roads without being restricted to a fixed route. Instead of following pre-determined tracks, the vehicle will navigate dynamically through the city, offering a glimpse into how autonomous delivery could shape the future of urban e-commerce.
The initiative responds directly to the changing expectations of consumers and the increasing complexity of delivering goods efficiently in busy city environments. As online grocery shopping continues to expand across Europe, retailers are facing growing pressure to provide fast delivery while also lowering costs and reducing environmental impact. With this pilot, Collect&Go is demonstrating how innovation, automation, and green mobility can work together to solve modern logistics challenges in a real-world setting.
A Strategic Innovation Step for Colruyt Group’s E-Commerce Growth
E-commerce has become one of the most competitive markets globally, and grocery delivery is among the most challenging segments due to time sensitivity, perishable products, and high operational costs. Collect&Go has been active in online grocery services for more than 25 years and has built a strong reputation as a market leader in Belgium. With this new autonomous vehicle trial, the company aims to further strengthen its position by improving how the last mile of delivery is managed.
Tom De Prater, Director at Collect&Go, explained that online grocery shopping is not simply an additional service but a core pillar of Colruyt Group’s future. The company’s ambition is to remain best-in-class in a rapidly evolving market where customer expectations, competition, and urban mobility realities are changing faster than ever. According to De Prater, last-mile delivery is often the most expensive part of the logistics chain, and the final kilometres in dense city centres come with unique obstacles such as traffic congestion, limited parking, and restricted delivery access.
For Collect&Go, investing in innovative solutions like unmanned delivery vehicles is not a short-term experiment but part of Colruyt Group’s long-standing culture of innovation. The company believes that creative technologies can help make deliveries more efficient, more sustainable, and ultimately more accessible for customers.
Collaboration with Leuven City and Federal Mobility Authorities
This project is not being carried out in isolation. It is the result of collaboration between Collect&Go, the city of Leuven, and key Belgian federal authorities. The pilot is being developed in partnership with “Stad Leuven” and Belgium’s Federal Public Service for Mobility and Transport (FOD Mobiliteit). Other stakeholders such as Agentschap Wegen en Verkeer and VIAS were also involved in the approval process, ensuring that the project meets strict requirements for road safety and public responsibility.
A major breakthrough came when FOD Mobiliteit granted Colruyt Group the official permit needed to operate the unmanned vehicle on public roads. This approval marks a turning point for autonomous mobility in Belgium, demonstrating that authorities are now willing to explore advanced transport innovations under controlled conditions.
In the weeks leading up to the pilot’s launch, the vehicle will begin operating in Leuven to map its delivery route and gather real-world driving data. Once the project officially begins in mid-May, residents living within Leuven postal code 3000 will be eligible to use the service, excluding areas such as the pedestrian zone and the ring road. Customers will be able to access grocery home delivery at Colruyt’s lowest-price promise, now supported by autonomous electric technology.
A National Vision for Sustainable and Safe Autonomous Mobility
The launch of this pilot has also attracted attention at the national policy level. Belgium’s Minister of Mobility, Jean-Luc Crucke, emphasized that autonomous mobility is no longer a distant futuristic concept but a transformation already underway. He highlighted the responsibility of policymakers to create the right conditions for innovation to develop safely, while ensuring it aligns with sustainability and low-carbon transport goals.
For Belgium, the project is not only about grocery delivery. It is also a test case for how autonomous vehicles could eventually support broader mobility objectives such as reducing emissions, cutting congestion, and improving urban quality of life. Crucke explained that Belgium is working not only at the national level but also with European partners to ensure autonomous mobility evolves into a collective success.
This pilot is expected to generate valuable insights for regulators, municipalities, and logistics providers who want to understand how autonomous systems can be safely integrated into everyday urban traffic.
Leuven Strengthens Its Smart City and Mobility Leadership
Leuven has positioned itself as a forward-thinking city with a strong focus on sustainability, digitalisation, and innovative urban planning. City officials see the Collect&Go pilot as a practical step that aligns with Leuven’s broader mobility strategy.
Dirk Vansina, Leuven’s Alderman for Spatial Planning, stated that the project supports the city’s long-term goal of making traffic safer and more efficient while also creating more space for people. Leuven’s mobility policy is designed to reduce unnecessary vehicle traffic, improve pedestrian and cyclist safety, and encourage more sustainable forms of transportation.
Thomas Van Oppens, Alderman for Digitalisation, also reinforced Leuven’s role as a smart city. He described Leuven as a living laboratory where innovative technologies can be tested and refined to solve real societal challenges. In his view, autonomous delivery vehicles are not just technological experiments but practical tools that could help create a more sustainable and efficient city environment.
Through this pilot, Leuven is demonstrating how public-private partnerships can accelerate innovation while ensuring it benefits citizens directly.
The Role of 5G Technology in Remote Control and Safety Monitoring
One of the most critical factors enabling this project is the use of high-performance 5G connectivity. The unmanned delivery vehicle will be controlled through the 5G network of the Telenet group, which provides fast, stable, and secure communication between the vehicle and its remote operators.
Safety is being treated as the highest priority in the pilot. The vehicle has a maximum speed of 25 km/h, reducing risk in urban traffic and giving it more time to respond to unpredictable situations. It is equipped with multiple cameras that provide continuous monitoring of its surroundings. In addition, it uses both short-range and long-range radar systems capable of detecting obstacles such as cars, cyclists, and pedestrians while measuring distances accurately.
The vehicle is also monitored remotely by a trained control operator who can oversee its movement and intervene if necessary. Thanks to Telenet’s secure 5G connection, the operator has real-time visibility of the delivery route and traffic conditions. The network used is isolated from other mobile network traffic, ensuring stable performance even during peak usage periods.
Local police are also involved in the pilot route, further strengthening safety oversight and ensuring the vehicle’s operation is aligned with public road requirements.
Federal Digitalisation Support Highlights the Wider Potential of 5G
The pilot is also being recognized as a powerful demonstration of how 5G can enable advanced real-world applications beyond consumer internet use. Vanessa Matz, Belgium’s Minister for Digitalisation, stated that the country has made major progress in 5G coverage, with nearly 97% of Belgians now able to access the technology.
However, she stressed that 5G is not simply about faster browsing or improved mobile calls. Its real value lies in enabling new use cases such as autonomous vehicles and connected mobility systems. Pilot projects like Collect&Go’s autonomous delivery initiative help demonstrate how digital infrastructure investments can lead to tangible innovations that benefit society.
The federal government’s support for such pilot projects reflects a broader goal of encouraging innovation ecosystems that can eventually create new economic opportunities and mobility solutions for Belgium.
Telenet Business Builds a Dedicated Private Network for Reliable Connectivity
Telenet Business is playing a central role in making this project operational by delivering a tailor-made connectivity solution designed specifically for autonomous vehicle control. Geert Degezelle, Chief Commercial Officer at Telenet Business and responsible for B2B operations within the Telenet group, explained that secure and high-quality digital services are essential for all customers, especially when the application involves mobility and public safety.
Telenet Business is leveraging advanced capabilities of its 5G network, including network segmentation, also known as network slicing. Through this method, a dedicated portion of the mobile network is reserved specifically for Colruyt Group’s unmanned vehicle operations. This creates what is known as a Mobile Private Network, a secure and high-performance connectivity environment designed for critical applications.
This setup ensures that the vehicle maintains stable connection even during high-traffic network periods. It also enables real-time exchange of video feeds, sensor information, and control signals between the vehicle and the remote operator. This constant communication is essential to ensuring safe navigation in a busy urban environment where conditions can change rapidly.
Telenet emphasized that by building on its own mobile infrastructure, it can support the future automation of transport and mobility in Belgium. The company stated that it will continue investing in innovative 5G use cases that can directly impact daily life.
How the Unmanned Vehicle Delivery Experience Will Work for Customers
From mid-May, the unmanned vehicle will begin delivering groceries to customers’ homes in Leuven city centre for a three-month period. This delivery service will operate at Collect&Go’s lowest-price guarantee, ensuring that customers benefit not only from convenience but also from cost competitiveness.
The vehicle is designed to carry up to two customer orders at a time, making it efficient for short delivery cycles within the city. Each delivery compartment is secured with a unique code known only to the customer, ensuring that orders remain protected until they are collected. Once the delivery is completed, the vehicle returns to the Collect&Go pick-up point in Kessel-Lo, where it can be reloaded for the next delivery run.
This process allows Collect&Go to test how autonomous delivery vehicles could operate in repeated cycles, supporting multiple customers while reducing reliance on traditional delivery vans.
Customers who select delivery via the unmanned vehicle will pay the same delivery fee as they would for Collect&Go’s existing delivery system: €7. Collect&Go also noted that this fee could be waived during promotional campaigns, giving customers additional incentives to try the new technology.
Supporting Existing Delivery Services Through Private Drivers
Collect&Go made it clear that the autonomous vehicle is not intended to replace existing delivery methods but rather to complement them. The company already operates home delivery through its Drivers network, which consists of private delivery partners from the local area.
These Drivers remain an important part of Collect&Go’s delivery ecosystem, especially for areas outside the pilot zone or for deliveries requiring additional flexibility. Collect&Go is continuing to recruit motivated individuals for this delivery partner model, ensuring that local communities benefit economically while helping the company meet delivery demand.
By combining private Drivers with autonomous delivery solutions, Collect&Go is experimenting with a hybrid approach that could provide both scalability and resilience in future delivery operations.
A Long-Term Vision for Autonomous Urban Logistics in Belgium
While the pilot is scheduled to run only from mid-May until August, Collect&Go has made it clear that its ambitions extend far beyond this short testing period. The company aims to explore how autonomous transport can be safely and sustainably deployed in Belgian cities on a larger scale. This will require ongoing collaboration with local and federal authorities, as well as continued evaluation of safety performance, customer satisfaction, operational cost efficiency, and environmental impact.
If successful, the pilot could serve as a foundation for wider implementation of autonomous grocery delivery not only in Leuven but potentially in other Belgian cities facing similar last-mile challenges.
By introducing a fully electric unmanned delivery vehicle supported by secure 5G technology, Collect&Go is positioning itself at the forefront of European grocery innovation. The project highlights how retail, mobility, and digital infrastructure can come together to create new solutions that meet modern consumer expectations while also supporting sustainability goals.
Source Link:https://press.colruytgroup.com/
