Amazon has announced plans to purchase a colossal 100,000 EV delivery vans from EV manufacturer Rivian. This comes as the company urges industry to sign up to 'The Climate Pledge', an initiative to reach zero net carbon by 2040, ten years ahead of The Paris Agreement. Amazon aims to achieve this through investments in electrification and renewable energy initiatives. These plans include having the 100,000 EV's operational by 2024, backed by a $700 million investment in Rivian, the manufacturer of their EV fleet.
The benefits of electrification of a delivery fleet are many and varied including; fuel efficiency, lower maintenance costs, more efficiency in delivery and brand benefits with both customers and employees energized by working with a company with a commitment to sustainability. Although not the first big player to make serious inroads into electrification of their delivery fleet (UPS for example, have been testing EV's for a number of years), this order represents a real boost of confidence in the ability of EV's to offer a reliable and sustainable alternative to the traditional fossil fuel fleet.
Ireland has seen an increase in the registration of EV Light Commercial Vehicles of 348% between 2018 and 2019. The SMMT has reported that the UK LCV sector is experiencing strong growth, with buyers opting for the latest, cleanest vehicles. It is no surprise that the EV passenger car industry is experiencing consistent growth, but what we are now seeing is the delivery and infrastructure industry making meaningful contributions into EV research and development, not just through renewable policies and objectives, but actual real world orders and investment.
Sources
https://chargedevs.com/newswire/amazon-orders-100000-electric-delivery-vans-from-rivian/
https://sustainability.aboutamazon.com/
https://www.ups.com/us/es/services/knowledge-center/article.page?kid=ac91f520
https://www.smmt.co.uk/2019/09/uk-light-commercial-vehicle-market-soars-up-by-41-0-in-august/