Amazon Will Triple Number Of Electric Delivery Vehicles In Europe To 10,000
Amazon has announced it will spend more than €1 billion over the next five years to reduce emissions from its fleet of delivery vehicles in Europe. It intends to increase the number of electric delivery vehicles from 3000 today to 10,000, and will add 1,500 electric long haul trucks. In addition, it will add more electric cargo bikes for last mile distribution in congested cities and encourage more public charging infrastructure to support the transition to electric cars. The company says it plans to achieve net zero status by 2040 — 10 years ahead of the goal established by the Paris climate accords.
“Our transportation network is one of the most challenging areas of our business to decarbonize, and to achieve net-zero carbon will require a substantial and sustained investment,” said Andy Jassy, Amazon CEO. “Deploying thousands of electric vans, long haul trucks, and bikes will help us shift further away from traditional fossil fuels — and hopefully further encourage transportation and automotive industries in Europe and around the world to continue scaling and innovating, as we will have to work together to reach our climate goals.”
Amazon has launched micro-mobility hubs — smaller, centrally located delivery stations — in more than 20 cities across Europe, including London, Munich, and Paris, and expects to double that figure by the end of 2025. In Europe’s traditionally dense cities, the hubs enable Amazon to operate new delivery methods, such as e-cargo bikes and foot deliveries, to bring packages to customers more sustainably. Micro-mobility hubs take traditional delivery vans off the road, which alleviates traffic congestion in city centers and improves air quality.
In addition to these new vans and micro-mobility hubs and vehicles, Amazon will also invest in thousands of chargers across its European facilities. The investment will allow the company and its partners to improve fleet charging hardware.
Long haul transportation is especially difficult to decarbonize, given the size and weight of the trucks and the long distances they need to travel. Electric heavy goods vehicles are a promising technology, but availability today is limited and the charging infrastructure they require is lacking. Amazon today has 5 electric semis on the road in the UK, and will have 20 on the road in Germany by the end of this year.
Amazon is using its size and scale to encourage the production of more electric heavy trucks so it and other companies can transition away from diesel-powered trucks more quickly. To power those electric trucks, Amazon will build hundreds of specialized fast chargers across its European facilities, allowing the company to charge the vehicles in approximately two hours.
Amazon is on track to power all its operations with 100% renewable energy by 2025. This includes such operations as data centers, logistics facilities, physical stores, and corporate offices, including on-site charging points. Amazon now has more than 100 renewable energy projects in place or underway across Europe.
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