New delivery van from Amazon
Amazon
Amazon is now testing its electric delivery vans in San Francisco, the company announced on Thursday.
It is the latest expansion in California of customized electric vehicles from Amazon developed in partnership with startup Rivian Automotive, which has raised about $ 8 billion since 2019 from investors. Amazon announced last month that it has started testing electric delivery vans in Los Angeles. The company plans to expand the program to 14 more cities this year.
Amazon said it chose San Francisco as one of the first cities to test Rivian’s electric vans because of its “great customers, unique terrain and climate”. Deliveries will initially be made to Amazon’s delivery station in the Richmond suburb of San Francisco, but Amazon hopes to start delivering to other locations in the bay area soon.
“From what we’ve seen, this is one of the fastest and most modern commercial electrification programs, and we are incredibly proud of it,” said Ross Rachey, global director of fleet and products at Amazon, in a statement. “As we continue to grow and invest in California, we want to do it responsibly, so we are excited about customers in the Bay Area to see these vehicles crossing their neighborhood.”
Amazon, which supported Rivian through its $ 2 billion Climate Pledge Fund, agreed in September 2019 to purchase 100,000 electric vehicles from the start as part of its ambitious effort to make Amazon’s fleet run entirely on renewable energy. Each van has a range of 150 miles per load.
Since then, Amazon said, it has operated thousands of electric vehicles worldwide. In 2020, she said she delivered more than 20 million packages using electric delivery vehicles in North America and Europe.
To make the switch to electric vehicles, Amazon has redesigned its delivery stations, adding thousands of electric vehicle chargers. For now, said Amazon, the vehicles are being driven by Amazon employees specially trained to operate them.
Amazon unveiled a version of the electric delivery vans last fall. They feature a more square design, the familiar Prime brand and updated safety features, such as an advanced driver assistance system and external cameras that give the driver a 360 degree view outside the vehicle.
Amazon is still refining the design of its electric delivery vans before production begins, which Rivian plans for the fourth quarter of this year.