Amazon has 5,000-plus EV delivery vans on the road
Amazon continues to decarbonize its transportation network.
The online giant began rolling out Rivian electric delivery vans in the United States in the summer of 2022 and now has more than 5,000 on the road across the country. To date, Amazon’s custom electric vans from Rivian have delivered more than 150 million packages to customers in more than 800 U.S. cities and regions.
Amazon has comitted to having 100,000 Rivian electric delivery vehicles on the road by 2030. The Rivian investment, first announced in 2019, is part of Amazon’s Climate Pledge to be net zero carbon across its entire business by 2040.
The company has also brought the custom vans to Europe. Earlier this month, it said that more than 300 new vans with hit the road in Germany, joining a fleet of thousands of electric vans already in operation in Europe.
Amazon’s custom electric vehicles are made at Rivian’s factory in Illinois, with a design focused on 360-degree visibility and protecting drivers and pedestrians. Safety features include sensor detection, a large windshield to enhance driver visibility, automatic emergency braking, adaptive cruise control and collision warnings.
In addition, Amazon said the vehicles have first-of-its-kind embedded technology that fully integrates the delivery workflow with the vehicle, enabling seamless access to routing, navigation, driver support and more.
In May, Amazon confirmed a report that it is in talks with Rivian to allow it to provide its electric delivery trucks to other companies. Currently, Rivian has an agreement to exclusively supply the vehicles to Amazon.
“While nothing has changed with our agreement with Rivian, we’ve always said that we want others to benefit from their technology in the long run because having more electric delivery vehicles on the road is good for our communities and our planet,” the Amazon spokesperson said in an official statement emailed to Chain Store Age.
In addition to ordering 100,000 custom electric delivery vehicles from Rivian, Amazon has put more than 15 models of electric vehicles on the road, including delivery vehicles, e-cargo bikes, and e-rickshaws, to test and learn across the U.S., the European Union, and India.