Renowned e-commerce giant, AMAZON.COM has recently stated that it plans to invest around 1 billion euros ($974 million) in the upcoming five years in electric trucks, vans, and low-emission package hubs across Europe, to speed up its goal to attain net-zero carbon.

According to the retailer, the investment is intended to drive innovation across the transportation industry and promote more public charging infrastructure for electric vehicles (EVs).

The online retailing behemoth also stated that this investment would support almost tripling its European electric van fleet from 3,000 vehicles to more than 10,000 by 2025.

Apparently, the firm did not provide details on what percentage of its last-mile delivery fleet is electric in Europe but mentioned that nearly 3,000 zero-emission of these vans delivered over 100 million packages in 2021.

Amazon also hinted at purchasing more than 1,500 electric heavy goods vehicles that would be employed for middle-mile deliveries to packaging hubs in the coming years.

While several logistics majors, like United Parcel Service and FedEx, have committed to buying multiple zero-emission electric vans and trucks, only a few options are available in the market for purchase.

Several startups are also working hard to bring electric trucks or vans to market and are encountering rising competition from legacy manufacturers, like Ford Motor and General Motors.

As per reports, Amazon has received a major electric van order for 100,000 vehicles through 2025 from Rivian Automotive. The company has stated that alongside EVS, it will be investing in offering charging facilities across Europe.

The ecommerce giant also announced plans to double the number of micro-mobility centers it already operates across Europe, from across 20 cities.  

In order to reduce emissions, Amazon has used these strategically placed hubs to operate new delivery techniques like on-foot deliveries and electric cargo bikes.

It has also been revealed that by 2040, the behemoth aims to be carbon neutral.

Source credit - https://www.businesstimes.com.sg/transport/amazoncom-to-invest-over-1b-euros-in-european-electric-van-truck-fleet