Amazon is lifting the hood on one of three custom-designed electric delivery vans it built in partnership with Rivian.
The new vehicle is 100% electric and features various technology such as sensor detection, exterior cameras that provide 360-degree views, Alexa voice integration, and more.
“We combined Rivian’s technology with our delivery logistics knowledge, and the result is what you see here-the future of last mile delivery,” Ross Rachey, director of Amazon’s Global Fleet and Products, said in a blog post.
Rachey noted that Amazon is working to build technology that supports physical charging infrastructure and “enhancements and optimization of our delivery stations.”
Amazon last year announced plans to purchase 100,000 electric vans from Rivian to bolster its delivery fleet; it is also a major investor in the Irvine, Calif.-based company. Amazon led a $700 million round for Rivian last year.
Amazon said today it will have 10,000 custom electric delivery vehicles on the road as early as 2022, and all 100,000 by 2030.
The Seattle tech giant in August inked a deal with Mercedes to buy more than 1,800 electric vans for the company’s delivery fleet in Europe. Mercedes also joined Amazon’s Climate Pledge, an initiative announced by the tech giant last year to become net carbon neutral by 2040.
Amazon’s 2019 sustainability report shows that its greenhouse gas emissions rose over the previous year by 15%, illustrating the challenge the company faces in its quest to go carbon neutral.
The electric vehicles are part of Amazon’s increasing investment in its own delivery infrastructure of trucks, cargo planes and more.
Via GeekWire.com