Customers awaiting their Amazon packages in major cities including Baltimore, Chicago, Dallas, Kansas City, Nashville, Phoenix, San Diego, Seattle and St. Louis will begin seeing custom electric delivery vehicles from Rivian rolling to their homes.
Amazon stated that it designed the vehicles from the ground up with safety, sustainability and comfort in mind, adding that they are rolling out after tests across the United States.
The new electric vans are the product of a company partnership with Rivian, which the companies announced in 2019 when Amazon co-founded and became the first signatory of The Climate Pledge, a commitment to reach net-zero carbon across its operations by 2040. In fulfillment of the pledge, Amazon is creating a more sustainable delivery fleet, the company noted, and its work with Rivian is key to decarbonizing its last mile logistics as well as accelerating innovation that can help others reach net-zero carbon.
Among the vehicle features is a new embedded technology that fully integrates the delivery workflow with the vehicle, enabling easy access to routing, navigation, driver support and more.
Amazon noted that it has added thousands of charging stations at company delivery stations across the country and will continue to invest in building an infrastructure to support a more sustainable delivery fleet. Amazon has partnered with the nonprofit Ceres and several other fleet operators to launch the Corporate Electric Vehicle Alliance, bringing together companies to accelerate the transition to electric vehicles.
“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,” said Andy Jassy, CEO of Amazon, in announcing the vehicle rollout. “Rivian has been an excellent partner in that mission, and we’re excited to see our first custom electric delivery vehicles on the road. Today marks a significant milestone in our Climate Pledge commitment. Rivian was one of the first companies Amazon invested in through the Climate Pledge Fund, and we’re just getting started on our journey to have 100,000 of Rivian’s vehicles on the road by 2030. And, in addition to being sustainable, these new vehicles are also great for drivers. They were designed with driver input and feedback along the way, and they’re among the safest and most comfortable delivery vehicles on the road today.”
