Amazon’s green delivery fleet: That’s why Rivian alone cannot satisfy the retail giant

• Amazon wants to make its delivery fleet environmentally friendly
• Order of 100,000 e-vans from Rivian
• Difficult to meet retail giant’s needs

Amazon wants to make its delivery fleet environmentally friendly. The aim is to deliver half of all orders in a climate-neutral manner by 2030. The retail giant aims to be net carbon neutral by 2040. The result is what the New York Times calls an insatiable appetite for electric delivery trucks. Amazon’s job postings state that the group is building “the largest EV fleet and the largest charging network in the world”.

“The electrification of the delivery fleet is a really important part of this strategy,” quotes the US daily Anne Goodchild, who leads the work on supply chains, logistics and freight transport at the University of Washington. And further: “It is now quite normal for trucking and logistics companies to talk about sustainability, and not as a peripheral issue, but as a fundamental change,” said Goodchild, adding that through its upfront commitments Amazon is helping to “a to create a market”.

Rivian alone cannot meet Amazon’s needs

Amazon is already working with Rivian, in which it also holds a 20 percent stake, to implement its plans. The online giant has already ordered 100,000 electric delivery vans there. In addition, Amazon has secured exclusive rights to Rivian’s commercial delivery vans for four years and a right of first refusal for two years thereafter.

Ex-Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos called Rivian founder RJ Scaringe “one of the greatest entrepreneurs I’ve ever met” on Twitter last fall.

A lot to still prove out here for sure, but the Rivian team is world class, and @RJScaringe is one of the greatest entrepreneurs I’ve ever met.

Now, RJ, where are our vans?!https://t.co/5rdnuEw2mm

– Jeff Bezos (@JeffBezos) October 7, 2021

Bezos also asked where the ordered e-vans were staying. And there’s the problem, because while Amazon has a huge need for electric delivery vans, the auto industry has so far produced hardly any such vehicles for commercial use, as the New York Times also points out.

Orders placed with Stellantis, Daimler & Co

For this reason, Amazon has not only ordered e-vans from Rivian, but has also placed orders with other car manufacturers. Amazon ordered “thousands” of electric Ram ProMaster vans from Stellantis, the company announced this month. The all-electric delivery van, of which Amazon is the first commercial customer, is expected to be on the market by 2023. In addition, the retail giant has ordered 1,800 electric delivery vans from Daimler and recently entered into a partnership with Indian automaker Mahindra to add an additional 10,000 three-wheel electric vehicles to its fleet by 2025.

So Amazon has big plans and has already taken some steps to achieve its goal. “The scale and speed at which we’re trying to do this requires a lot of invention, testing and learning, and a whole new approach,” quoted the New York Times as Ross Rachey, who heads Amazon’s global fleet.

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