Amazon orders 100,000 electric delivery vans from Rivian

Amazon has placed an order for 100,000 bespoke electric delivery vans for its global fleet, as part of its mission to de-carbonise its business.

The new vehicles will be supplied by Rivian, an American electric vehicle (EV) firm that has yet to begin production of any vehicles.

Rivian has developed a ‘skateboard’ electric chassis that will underpin a new pick-up truck and SUV, which are due to go on sale next year. It is believed that this platform will also be used for the base of the Amazon van.

It uses a 180kWh battery pack – expected to give a range of around 450 miles.

The first vans are expected to be delivered in 2021 and Amazon plans to have 10,000 of the new electric vehicles on the road as early as 2022 and all 100,000 vehicles on the road by 2030 – saving four million metric tons of carbon per year by 2030.

Two years ago, Amazon made a long-term commitment to power its global infrastructure with 100% renewable energy. Amazon is now pledging to reach 80% renewable energy by 2024 and 100% renewable energy by 2030 on its path to net zero carbon by 2040.

The company has already invested more than £350m in Rivian to help it accelerate the development of zero-emission vehicles.

“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.”