Amazon orders 1,800 electric Mercedes vans

Amazon is expanding its European delivery fleet with 1,800 new electric vans from Mercedes-Benz.

The new vehicles will be integrated into the online retailer’s fleet throughout the year.

In the UK, 500 electric Mercedes-Benz vans will be deployed.

The new fleet will be a mixture of 1,200 e-Sprinters and 600 e-Vitos.

Amazon and Mercedes-Benz share a commitment to reduce emissions from the transportation sector, and Mercedes-Benz also announced today it has joined The Climate Pledge, which calls on signatories to be net zero carbon across their businesses by 2040—a decade ahead of the Paris Agreement goal of 2050.

“We welcome the bold leadership demonstrated by Mercedes-Benz by signing up to The Climate Pledge and committing to ambitious action to address climate change. We need continued innovation and partnership from auto manufacturers like Mercedes-Benz to decarbonize the transportation sector and tackle the climate crisis,” said Jeff Bezos, Amazon founder and CEO. “Amazon is adding 1,800 electric delivery vehicles from Mercedes-Benz as part of our journey to build the most sustainable transportation fleet in the world, and we will be moving fast to get these vans on the road this year.”

Amazon’s Delivery Service Partners will have access to the new fleet of zero-emission vehicles to make deliveries to customers in Europe this year, helping to save thousands of metric tons of carbon. The order is a milestone for Mercedes-Benz Vans, marking the largest order of electric vehicles for the manufacturer to date, and makes Amazon its largest sustainable transportation partner worldwide.

"I am delighted that we are further intensifying our long-standing partnership with Amazon and working together on the battery-electric future of transportation," said Marcus Breitschwerdt, head of Mercedes-Benz Vans.

“With the eVito and the eSprinter, we have electric vehicles in our portfolio, which are ideally suited for the requirements of the courier-, express- and parcel-service industry for goods delivery on the so-called ‘last mile’ in terms of their equipment and range. They show that local emission-free driving, convincing performance, comfort and low operating costs can be combined perfectly.”

As part of Mercedes-Benz’s commitment as the latest signatory of The Climate Pledge, the company is doubling down on its commitment to "Ambition2039", a roadmap to CO2-neutral mobility. The company is evaluating ways to remove carbon from its entire value chain, from development to the supplier network, from its own production to the electrification of products and beyond, as well as to ensuring renewable energies for the use phase of electric vehicles.