(Credit: Amazon)Amazon has begun the rollout of Rivian electric delivery vehicles across the US. The retail giant and Rivian plan to bring thousands of custom electric delivery vehicles to more than 100 cities by the end of this year, and 100,000 across the US by 2030.
The US will begin seeing custom electric delivery vehicles from Rivian delivering the retailer’s packages in Baltimore, Chicago, Dallas, Kansas City, Nashville, Phoenix, San Diego, Seattle, and St. Louis, among other cities. This rollout is “just the beginning” of what is expected to be thousands of Amazon’s custom electric delivery vehicles in more than 100 cities by the end of this year.
The vehicles are the product of Amazon’s partnership with Rivian, which the companies announced in 2019. As part of the Pledge, the retailer is creating a more sustainable delivery fleet, and with its commitment to have all 100,000 electric delivery vehicles on the road by 2030, Amazon says it will save millions of metric tons of carbon per year.
According to Amazon, the company has been testing deliveries with Rivian preproduction vehicles since 2021, delivering over 430,000 packages and accumulating over 90,000 miles, and Rivian has also completed certifications with the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, California Air Resources Board, and the EPA.
The custom vehicles have “360-degree visibility, a suite of innovative safety features including sensor detection, highway, and traffic assist technology, first-of-its-kind embedded technology that fully integrates the delivery workflow with the vehicle, and batteries that are light, resilient, and low cost in addition to lasting the lifetime of the vehicle.”
The retailer began this initiative in February when it invested in Rivian, and worked with EO Charging to service its electric delivery trucks. EO is servicing 5,000 charging stations for Amazon.
Amazon also recently began researching energy efficient technologies to create net zero plastics that can be broken down and turned into new plastic materials or biodegrade, which the company says is another step in its goal to reduce packaging waste.
Amazon says its team of materials experts and scientists will work to develop technologies and materials that will make the complete lifecycle of plastics net zero. As part of the effort, the company has joined the US Department of Energy’s BOTTLE consortium, which is designed to stimulate innovation and advance technologies to tackle plastic pollution.
