Amazon’s new delivery van
Amazon
Amazon is now testing its electric delivery vans in San Francisco, the company announced on Thursday.
It is California’s latest expansion of Amazon’s custom electric vehicles developed in partnership with start-up Rivian Automotive, which has raised about $ 8 billion since 2019 from investors. Amazon announced last month that it has begun testing electric utility vehicles in Los Angeles. The company plans to expand the program to 14 more cities this year.
Amazon said it selected San Francisco as one of the original cities to test Rivian’s electric vans because of its “excellent customers, unique terrain and climate.” Deliveries will initially be made from the Amazon delivery station in the Richmond suburb of San Francisco, but Amazon expects to begin deliveries from other sites in the Bay Area soon.
“From what we’ve seen, this is one of the fastest modern commercial electrification programs, and we’re incredibly proud of it,” said Ross Rachey, Amazon’s global director of fleet and products. “As we continue to grow and invest in California, we want to do so responsibly, so we’re excited for Bay Area customers to see these vehicles crossing their neighborhood.”
Amazon, which supported Rivian through its $ 2 billion Climate Commitment Fund, agreed in September 2019 to purchase 100,000 electric vehicles from the start-up as part of its ambitious move to make the Amazon fleet operational in all with renewable energy. Each van has a range of 150 miles per load.
Since then, Amazon has said, it has operated thousands of electric vehicles around the world. In 2020, it said it has delivered more than 20 million parcels using electric delivery vehicles to North America and Europe.
To move to electric vehicles, Amazon has redesigned its delivery stations, adding thousands of electric vehicle chargers. For now, Amazon said, the vehicles are driven by Amazon employees, who are specially trained to operate them.
Amazon unveiled a version of the electric delivery trucks last fall. They have a boxer design, the familiar Prime brand and improved safety features, such as an advanced driver assistance system and exterior cameras that give the driver a 360-degree view from outside the vehicle.
Amazon is still improving the design of its electric delivery trucks before production begins, which Rivian plans for the fourth quarter of this year.