Amazon turns to EVs for deliveries

It will add thousands more electric lorries, vans and cargo bikes to its fleet of delivery across Europe.

Amazon will drive innovation in zero emission vehicles and encourage the deployment of charging infrastructure, helping the entire industry reduce emissions in the short and long-term. The retailer hopes by taking this step it will encourage other retailers to invest in electric vehicles and help spur the building of more public charging infrastructure.

John Boumphrey, VP Country Manager UK explained Amazon has already taken significant steps towards its goal of reaching net zero carbon by 2040. This includes ensuring 1,000 EVs and five HGVs are on the roads in the UK delivering for customers. Micromobility hubs have also launched in over 20 cities across Europe, including London. Amazon hopes to double this number.

Volvo will supply 20 heavy-duty electric trucks to Amazon in Germany by the end of 2022. This fleet is expected to drive over one million road kilometres annually. “Heavy goods vehicles and other commercial vehicles make up 36% of Germany’s domestic transport emissions,” which makes road transport decarbonisation a vital issue to address.

“I´m glad that Amazon is working with us to help reduce their emissions in longer and heavier transport assignments,” said Jessica Sandström, Senior Vice President of Product Management at Volvo Trucks.

“Amazon is committed to decarbonizing its fleet, and the middle mile has been a notoriously hard-to-abate sector,” explained Andreas Marschner, Vice President Transportation Services Europe at Amazon.

“That’s why welcoming these electric heavy goods vehicles from Volvo into our fleet is such a critical milestone. We’re operating one of the fastest-growing commercial transportation electrification programs, and we’ll continue to invest and innovate to decarbonize and deliver packages to customers with zero emissions.”

Andy Jassy, Chief Executive of Amazon said: “Deploying thousands of electric vans, long-haul trucks, and bikes will help us shift further away from traditional fossil fuels.”

Achieving net zero carbon emissions requires “a substantial and sustained investment” with the transport network “one of the most challenging areas” to carbonise.

With the new investment, Amazon expects to roll out more than 700 electric HGVs in the UK by 2025, a massive increase from five today. It also claims to have more than triple its fleet of electric vans to 10,000 across the continent.

This investment includes the installation of fast charging points at its European warehouses and delivery hubs allowing the low-carbon fleet to charge in roughly two hours.

The investment plan comes amid an explosion in online shopping and deliveries since the COVID pandemic, helping to drive up profits. It also comes as soaring fuel costs since Russia’s invasion of Ukraine pushes firms to search for alternative transport methods.

Anne-Marie Trevelyan, the UK Transport Secretary supports Amazon’s move: “Significant investments like Amazon’s today will be vital to reducing emissions and meeting our net zero goals, while supporting growth at the same time,” she said.

This is not the first move from Amazon to help reach net carbon by 2040. Earlier this year, Amazon launched a fleet of e-cargo bikes and a team of on-foot delivery staff to replace thousands of van deliveries in London. The bikes are operated by a variety of partners businesses, not directly by Amazon.