Amazon has begun the rollout of its fleet of custom built Rivian delivery EV which will see thousands of these vans in more than 100 US cities by the end of 2022.
The custom vehicles are made at Rivian’s Illinois plant and Amazon intends to have fleet of more than 100,000 units by 2030.
The Rivian electric vehicles are first hitting the road in Baltimore, Chicago, Dallas, Kansas City, Nashville, Phoenix, San Diego, Seattle, and St. Louis.
The vehicles were thoroughly tested by drivers across the country ahead of the rollout. They are the product of Amazon’s 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.
Amazon says its work with Rivian is an important part of decarbonising its last mile logistics. With its commitment to have all 100,000 electric delivery vehicles on the road by 2030, Amazon says it will save millions of metric tons of carbon per year.
“Amazon is partnering with companies who share our passion for inventing new ways to minimize our impact on the environment. Rivian has been an excellent partner in that mission, and we’re excited to see our first custom electric delivery vehicles on the road,” Amazon chief executive Andy Jassy says
“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,” Jassy says.
“In 2019, Rivian and Amazon committed to fast-tracking a new type of delivery vehicle that would result in a significant reduction of carbon emissions,” Rivian chief executive RJ Scaringe says.
“Thanks to our teams’ dedication, hard work and collaboration, and a shared commitment to make the world a better place for our kids’ kids, that vision is now being realised. We’re thrilled to see this partnership has kickstarted decarbonization projects across the logistics delivery industry.”
Amazon says it has been testing Rivian preproduction vehicles since 2021, delivering more than 430,000 packages and accumulating more than 90,000 miles.
This process allowed Rivian to continuously improve the vehicle’s performance in various climates and geographies as well as its features to ensure driver satisfaction. Rivian has also completed certifications with the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, California Air Resources Board, and U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.
Amazon says it has added thousands of charging stations at its delivery stations across the country and will continue to invest in building an infrastructure to support a more sustainable delivery fleet.
