Amazon is investing a billion dollars in electrifying its European fleet. The company wants to put at least 10,000 electric vans and 1,500 electric trucks into service in Europe.
The US e-commerce giant is presenting a plan to reduce the environmental impact of its European transport network. The company is investing over a billion dollars over five years for this purpose. With its investment, Amazon says it also wants to stimulate innovation in the electric vehicle market, and accelerate the rollout of public charging infrastructure. This should support the transition of the transport industry in general to more sustainable transport methods.
10,000 electric vans by 2025
Amazon currently deploys over 3,000 electric vans to deliver parcels to European customers. With the investment now announced, the company aims to increase this number substantially; it wants to have more than 10,000 electric vans in Europe by 2025.
"Our transport network is one of the most challenging parts of our business to decarbonise, and for achieving net-zero CO2 emissions. This requires substantial and sustained investment," said Andy Jassy, CEO of Amazon. "The deployment of thousands of electric vans, long-haul trucks and bikes will help further move away from traditional fossil fuels - and hopefully encourage the transport and automotive industries in Europe and around the world to continue to scale and innovate, as we will need to work together to achieve our climate goals."
Micro-mobility hubs
The e-commerce giant also points to its so-called 'micro-mobility hubs'. These are relatively small logistics centres located in central locations. From the centres, Amazon employees deliver parcels using electric bicycles or on foot. Currently, the company has such hubs in more than 20 European cities. These include London, Munich and Paris. Amazon expects this number to double by the end of 2025. "Micro-mobility hubs take traditional vans off the road, reducing traffic congestion in city centres and improving air quality," Amazon reports.
The US company is also investing in charging infrastructure at its European facilities. In total, the company wants to install thousands of new charging stations. These charging stations will allow electric vehicles to be charged in about two hours.
Electric trucks
For transporting goods over longer distances, Amazon is betting on electric trucks. The US company calls these vehicles a promising technology, but also points to their limited availability. Amazon is currently deploying five electric trucks on UK roads. By the end of this year, the company should also have 20 in use on German roads. This number should grow substantially in the coming years; Amazon announces that it wants to add over 1,500 electric trucks to its European fleet.
The investment is part of the e-commerce company's aim to be net carbon neutral by 2040. The company wants to use renewable energy exclusively by 2025. The share of renewable energy within Amazon was around 85% in 2021. This includes all parts of Amazon, including data centres, logistics facilities, physical shops and offices. However, also consider charging infrastructure at Amazon's facilities.
Author: Wouter Hoeffnagel
