E-commerce giant Amazon is going to make large-scale use of electric vans from the company Rivian. Amazon has ordered 100,000 units of the electric vehicle. Amazon is talking about the largest order of electric vehicles ever.
Rivian is an American manufacturer of sustainable vehicles. The company was founded in 2009. The company has officially announced two electric cars: the electric SUV R1S and the electric pickup truck R1T. Both models share many similarities. For instance, the vehicles both accelerate from 0 to 60 mph, or 97 kilometres per hour, in three seconds. Both offer a range of more than 400 miles, equivalent to about 644 kilometres.
Up to 750hp
In addition, both vehicles are equipped with four motors, which are built into the wheels. Depending on the configuration, these motors deliver up to 750hp. The models are designed for off-road use, evidenced by their ability to drive through up to 90 centimetres of water and ground clearance of 36.3 cm (R1S) and 37.1 cm (R1T), respectively. The R1T has a maximum towing weight of almost 5,000 kilograms, while the R1S can tow a maximum of around 3,500 kilograms.
Both vehicles are about 2 metres wide. The R1S is 5.09 metres long, while R1T is just longer at 5.51 metres. The wheelbase of the R1S is 3.07 metres, while that of the R1T is 3.44 metres.
100,000 electric vans
So besides this electric SUV and pickup truck, Rivian is also working on an electric van, of which Amazon has ordered 100,000.
The purchase was announced by Dave Clark, senior vice president of operations at Amazon, on Twitter. The electric van ordered by Amazon from Rivian has not been officially announced. Details about this vehicle are therefore sadly lacking.
Our fleet is Electrifying! Thrilled to announce the order of 100,000 electric delivery vehicles - the largest order of electric delivery vehicles ever. Look out for the new vans starting in 2021. pic.twitter.com/y5qYpuy2WP
- Dave Clark (@davehclark) September 19, 2019
Prototypes on the road from 2019
The first examples of the van are expected to be delivered to Amazon in 2021, while 10,000 should be on the road by the end of 2022. "We will have prototypes on the road as early as next year, and 100,000 units rolled out by 2024," Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos said at the National Press Club in Washington.
Amazon has set itself the goal of making its entire distribution fleet electric by 2030. Currently, about 40% of Amazon's fleet runs on renewable fuels.
No impact on production of R1S and R1T
Despite the size of the order placed by Amazon, Rivian spokesperson Amy Mast reported to CNBC that this order will not impact production plans for the R1S and R1T. Both devices are due to hit the market in late 2020 as planned.
Rivian raised $700 million in February in an investment round led by Amazon. Ford Motor Company additionally invested half a billion dollars in Rivian in April. Global automotive services company Cox Automotive put $350 million into the company in September.
Author: Wouter Hoeffnagel
Source: Rivian
