Amazon.com Inc (NASDAQ: AMZN) on Thursday said the e-commerce giant has begun using some of the custom electric delivery vans that it developed with Rivian Automotive Inc (NASDAQ: RIVN)
In September 2019, Amazon founder and then-CEO Jeff Bezos announced that the company had purchased 100,000 vans from the EV startup as part of its ambitious push to achieve net-zero carbon emissions across its operations by 2040.
The e-commerce giant introduced a version of the van in October 2020 and then tested the vehicles in a number of cities throughout the last year.
Amazon says it will use the EVs to make deliveries in some US cities, including Baltimore, Chicago, Dallas, Kansas City, Nashville, Tennessee, Phoenix, San Diego, Seattle and St. Louis, among others.
The company said it expects “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.”
“Fighting the effects of climate change requires constant innovation and action, and Amazon is partnering with companies who share our passion for inventing new ways to minimize our impact on the environment,” Amazon CEO Andy Jassy said in a statement.
“Rivian has been an excellent partner in that mission, and we’re excited to see our first custom electric delivery vehicles on the road.”
Rivian CEO RJ Scaringe said the EV delivery van deployment is a “milestone” in efforts to decarbonize last-mile delivery.