Amazon’s electric delivery vehicles roll out across the U.S.
Jul 21, 2022, 12:59 PM | Updated: 1:04 pm
From left, Rivian CEO RJ Scaringe and Amazon CEO Andy Jassy
Customers across the U.S. will begin to see custom electric delivery vehicles from Rivian delivering their Amazon packages, with their electric vehicles hitting the road in Seattle among other cities including Baltimore, Chicago, Dallas, Kansas City, Nashville, Phoenix, San Diego, and St. Louis.
This is the first step in Amazon’s plan to roll out thousands of Amazon’s custom electric delivery vehicles in more than 100 cities by the end of this year — and 100,000 across the U.S. by 2030.
Amazon turning its delivery van fleet to electric vehicles will significantly help the company meet its target of hitting net zero carbon emissions by 2040.
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“Today represents an important step, not just for Amazon and Rivian as partners, but also for transportation and the environment,” said RJ Scaringe, CEO of Rivian. “In 2019, Rivian and Amazon committed to fast-tracking a new type of delivery vehicle that would result in a significant reduction of carbon emissions. To say this is an exciting moment is an understatement—we’re thrilled to see this partnership has kickstarted decarbonization projects across the logistics delivery industry.”
Amazon has been testing deliveries with Rivian preproduction vehicles since 2021, delivering more than 430,000 packages and accumulating more than 90,000 miles.
“Fighting the effects of climate change requires constant innovation and action, and Amazon is partnering with companies who share our passion for inventing new ways to minimize our impact on the environment. Rivian has been an excellent partner in that mission, and we’re excited to see our first custom electric delivery vehicles on the road,” said Andy Jassy, CEO of Amazon.
In addition to the electric vehicles, Amazon has added thousands of charging stations at its delivery stations across the country and will continue to invest in building an infrastructure to support a more sustainable delivery fleet.
Amazon will have multiple partners in the electric vehicle space, according to Udit Madan, Vice President of Amazon’s Last Mile.
Rivian, which was described as a promising Tesla competitor, has struggled to beef up its consumer production numbers in recent years before it partnered with Amazon.
Amazon is also a significant Rivian shareholder, holding approximately 18% of the company’s stock as of March.
