Amazon: the American giant allocates $1 billion for electric utilities

Amazon’s deliveries in the coming years will be emission-free, with a fleet of trucks and vans dedicated to 100% electric deliveries.

It is a fact that the increase in mail order and online shopping, especially since the COVID-19 pandemic, has significantly boosted the number of utility vehicles on our roads. More utility vehicles means more pollution and CO2 emissions, despite the messages from our governments encouraging us to consume more responsibly and sustainably. A paradox that the giant Amazon is trying to address by announcing a highly ambitious plan to “green” its utility vehicle fleets.

Amazon currently operates about 3,000 electric vans in Europe. These “zero-emission” models delivered 100 million packages last year, according to the American group.

Tripling the electric fleet

The 1-billion-euro plan should enable Amazon to expand this fleet to 10,000 vans in Europe by 2025. In addition to this “last mile” offer, Amazon is also proposing “micro-mobility” delivery hubs in 20 European cities, allowing delivery by cargo bike and on foot; it also plans to double this network of hubs.

While Amazon has not specified the brands and models of its future vans, it has already placed orders for 100,000 electric delivery vans Rivian. The American startup has teamed up with Mercedes-Benz to manufacture electric vans in the coming years at Mercedes factories located in Central or Eastern Europe. As a reminder, Amazon also invested €720 million in Rivian in 2019.

Heavy-duty for large trucks

For long-distance routes, Amazon will purchase large electric trucks such as the Tesla Semi, the Freightliner eCascadia, and the Volvo VNR electric that transport large quantities of goods from ports to distribution centers.

Obviously, to power this new fleet, Amazon will also invest in installing thousands of chargers within its warehouses across Europe.

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