Amazon CEO and occasional space traveler Jeff Bezos tries to replace a certain North Pole jolly fellow for holiday gift delivery.
Amazon’s latest move is to roll out over 1,000 electric delivery cars, designed by Rivian electric vehicle manufacturer, ready for deliveries in more than 100 U.S. cities. Texas’ good list includes Houston, Austin and Dallas. The Amazon juggernaut, which includes Baltimore, Chicago, Kansas City and Nashville, Phoenix as well as San Diego, Seattle, St. Louis, San Diego, Seattle and San Diego, began deliveries to Dallas in July.
According to Amazon, these zero-emission vans have delivered over 5 million packages to U.S. customers. Houston, Austin; Boston; Denver, Indianapolis; Las Vegas; Madison; Wisconsin; Newark; New Jersey; New York; Oakland, California; Pittsburgh; Portland, Oregon; Provo; Utah; and Salt Lake City are all the new drivers.
Rivian and Amazon plan to have thousands of vehicles on roads by the end-of the year, and 100,000 by 2030.
“We’re always excited for the holiday season, but making deliveries to customers across the country with our new zero-emission vehicles for the first time makes this year unique,” said Udit Madan, vice president of Amazon Transportation, in a statement. “We’ve already delivered over 5 million packages with our vehicles produced by Rivian, and this is still just the beginning—that figure will grow exponentially as we continue to make progress toward our 100,000-vehicle goal.”
This is all part of Amazon’s commitment of reaching net zero carbon by 2040. As part of its The Climate Pledge, Amazon promises to eliminate millions metric tons of carbon each year with its commitment to 100,000 electric vehicles by 2030. Press materials note.
Amazon also announced plans to invest over $1 billion in the next five-years to further electrify its transportation network across Europe. This investment is intended to stimulate innovation and encourage more public charging infrastructure on the continent.
“Fleet electrification is essential to reaching the world’s zero-emissions goal,” said Jiten Behl, chief growth officer at Rivian, in a statement. “So, to see our ramp up in production supporting Amazon’s rollout in cities across the country is amazing. This is not only for the environment, but for our teams that are working hard to get the tens of thousand electric delivery vehicles on their roads. They continue to be motivated by our combined mission and the great feedback about the vehicle’s performance and quality.”
A little about the vans: Drivers’ favorite features include a spacious cabin and cargo area, superior visibility with a large windshield and 360-degree cameras, and ventilated seats for fast heating and cooling — a must for Bayou City summers … or winters, for that matter.
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CultureMap originally published this article.
