Amazon clients throughout main cities within the US could quickly begin seeing a brand new sort of auto delivering their packages. On Thursday, Amazon started sending out its fleet of Rivian-built electrical supply vans throughout a number of cities, together with Baltimore, Nashville, Chicago, Dallas, St. Louis, Phoenix and San Diego.
That is the subsequent step in Amazon’s long-term plan to have 100,000 Rivian-built electrical automobiles delivering for the web retail big by 2030. The corporate additionally mentioned it expects to have the electrical automobiles delivering to greater than 100 cities by the tip of this 12 months.
“That is an extremely thrilling day for each Rivian and Amazon. Lots of of our customized Amazon supply vans are formally on the highway and making deliveries, because of years of shut collaboration between our groups,” RJ Scaringe, CEO of Rivian, mentioned in an announcement.
The Rivian supply vans have been constructed from the “floor up” particularly for Amazon, with the corporate touting that the automobiles aren’t solely extra sustainable, but additionally safer and extra snug for its drivers. The enlargement of the electrical fleet can be a serious level in Amazon’s Local weather Pledge, a dedication to achieve net-zero carbon emissions by 2040.
This follows testing of the Rivian electrical fleet in Los Angeles in early 2021. Since then, doubts about Rivian automobiles’ battery life and an announcement by the corporate in early 2022 that they might be lowering manufacturing have led to issues about Amazon’s potential to maintain up with its 2030 aim.
With the acknowledged aim of 100,000 electrical automobiles in Amazon’s fleet by 2030, Amazon hopes to avoid wasting thousands and thousands of metric tons of carbon per 12 months. Moreover, the corporate says it is “on a path” to energy its operations with 100% renewable power by 2025.
