FedEx CEO Fred Smith told CNBC’s Jim Cramer on Tuesday that the company will make big strides in its autonomous vehicle efforts this summer.
“You will see a tremendous push toward autonomous trucks moving down the highway in late June. Not in the city where we believe our drivers are better suited to pick up and deliver the long haul vehicles,” Smith told Mad Money in an interview.
“We are still a long way from that. But we can’t get rid of our drivers. They do the pickup and delivery and the excavator if you will, and over time I’m very confident that autonomous trucks are on the way,” he added.
FedEx announced it will be testing autonomous delivery trucks in China in late 2021 through a collaboration with Neolix, a self-driving logistics company based in the country. FedEx has previously launched autonomous vehicle initiatives, working with companies such as Nuro, DEKA Development Research, Aurora and Paccar.
The company announced Monday that Smith will become chairman of the board and will be succeeded by Ray Subramaniam, current chief operating officer. The leadership change will take place on June 1st. Smith founded FedEx in 1973, while Subramaniam joined the company in 1991.
FedEx shares rose 3.7% Tuesday after the news.
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