Amazon’s new van
Amazon
Amazon is now testing its electric vans in San Francisco, the company announced Thursday.
It is the latest California expansion of Amazon’s custom electric vehicles, developed in partnership with the start-up Rivian Automotive, which has raised approximately $ 8 billion from investors since 2019. Amazon announced last month that it had begun testing electric vans in Los Angeles. The company plans to expand the program to 14 additional cities this year.
Amazon said it selected San Francisco as one of the first cities to test Rivian electric vans because of its “great customers, unique terrain and climate.” Deliveries will initially be made from Amazon’s delivery station in the San Francisco suburb of Richmond, but Amazon is expecting deliveries from other Bay Area locations soon.
“From what we’ve seen, this is one of the fastest modern commercial electrification programs, and we’re incredibly proud of that,” said Ross Rachey, Amazon’s Global Fleet and Products Director. “As we continue to grow and invest in California, we want to do so responsibly, so we’re excited to see Bay Area customers see these vehicles driving through their neighborhood.”
Amazon, which has backed Rivian through its $ 2 billion Climate Pledge Fund, agreed in September 2019 to purchase 100,000 electric vehicles from the start-up as part of its ambitious effort to run Amazon’s fleet entirely on renewable energy. to turn. Each van has a range of 150 miles per charge.
Since then, Amazon said, it has used thousands of electric vehicles worldwide. By 2020, it delivered more than 20 million packages with electric vans in North America and Europe.
To make the switch to electric vehicles, Amazon redesigned its delivery stations and added 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 vans last fall. They have a boxer design, the trusted Prime brand and enhanced safety features such as an advanced driver assistance system and outdoor cameras that give the driver a 360-degree view outside the vehicle.
Amazon is still refining the design of its electric vans for the start of production, which Rivian plans for the fourth quarter of this year.