Amazon has made the largest order ever for electric delivery vehicles after it put 100,000 fully-electric vans from Rivian into its shopping basket.
The online retail and logistics giant is making major steps towards its commitment of net-zero carbon by 2040 and using 100% renewable energy to run its operations by 2030 by signing an order with electric vehicle startup Rivian.
The order of 100,000 fully-electric vans, which it plans to have start delivering packages to customers by 2021 and 10,000 on the roads by 2022. Amazon claims it will save an estimated four million metric tons of carbon per year, when all vans are in operation by 2030.
Amazon had already invested US$700m in the Michigan-based Rivian and this new deal is worth an additional US$440m, which gives Rivian a huge boost in its ability to develop and produce a fleet of electric vans, but also its lineup of electric pickup trucks, the R1T and R1S.
“We’re done being in the middle of the herd on this issue—we’ve decided to use our size and scale to make a difference,” said Jeff Bezos, Amazon founder and CEO. “If a company with as much physical infrastructure as Amazon—which delivers more than 10 billion items a year—can meet the Paris Agreement 10 years early, then any company can. I’ve been talking with other CEOs of global companies, and I’m finding a lot of interest in joining the pledge. Large companies signing The Climate Pledge will send an important signal to the market that it’s time to invest in the products and services the signatories will need to meet their commitments.”
