Amazon has just announced an investment of one billion euros over five years to develop its fleet of electric vehicles dedicated to delivery in Europe. The e-commerce giant hopes to double the number of electric trucks and vans in circulation.
After unveiling its first 100% electric delivery truck in October 2020 (made in partnership with the start-up Rivian), Amazon has just taken a new step in the electrification of its fleet of vehicles dedicated to delivery.
Indeed, the e-commerce giant has just announced this Monday, October 10, 2022 an investment of one billion euros over five years. With this sum, the company counts “more than double” its fleet of electric vehicles for delivery in Europe, in order to accelerate “the decarbonization of its transport network”.
Amazon wants more than 1,500 electric trucks
“As part of the investment announced today, Amazon plans to purchase and deploy more than 1,500 electric trucks across its European fleet, including more than 300 in France over the coming years.” specifies the American company. Otherwise, Amazon wants to increase its fleet of electric utilities (used in local delivery) to more than 10,000 by 2025 compared to 3,000 today.
According to Amazon, “several thousand zero-emission vehicles as part of its European activities” are already in circulation. 5 electric heavy goods vehicles in the UK have just entered service. Twenty electric semi-trailers should also join the German fleet by the end of 2022.
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In effect, the company has ordered these additional vehicles from Volvo. These are 44 tons equipped with a 540 kWh battery and have a range of 300 km. “Amazon is committed to decarbonizing its fleet, and medium-distance transport was particularly difficult to improve. That’s why welcoming these electric trucks from Volvo is a critical step for us. We are leading one of the fastest electrification programs for commercial transportation, and we will continue to invest and innovate to deliver zero emissions to our customers.” assured Andreas Marschner, vice president of the European Transport department of Amazon.
Otherwise, the Seattle firm has announced its desire to develop “micromobility hubs”, or local deliveries from small depots via electric cargo bikes. Already in place in 20 major European cities including Paris and Lyon, Amazon wants to launch them in twice as many municipalities by 2025. Remember that this massive investment is an important step in Amazon’s goal of achieving carbon neutrality by 2040.
