Amazon: More than 300 new electric vans from Rivian will hit the road in Germany

Amazon today announced the arrival of its new custom electric delivery vans from Rivian in Europe, with the first vans rolling out in Germany.

More than 300 electric delivery vans are hitting the road in the Munich, Berlin, and Dusseldorf regions in the coming weeks, joining a fleet of thousands of electric vans already in operation in Europe, including more than 1,000 electric vans in Germany. Amazon announced last year that it plans to invest more than €1 billion to electrify its European transportation network and reduce carbon emissions over the coming years, including more than €400M in Germany.

“Together, Amazon and Rivian designed and built a state-of-the-art electric vehicle from the ground up, and unlike anything else on the road today,” said Neil Emery, Amazon, Director, Global Fleet & Product. “The safety and comfort of our drivers were top of mind for us throughout this process, and we’ve raised the bar on both with the vehicle we are rolling out in Europe today.”

“We’re thrilled to see the EDV rolling out in Germany today” said Dagan Mishoulam, Vice President, Strategy & Go To Market, Rivian. “This vehicle was designed in conjunction with our partners at Amazon and not only puts driver convenience and safety first, but also the environment. We’ve had incredible feedback from drivers in the US and we’re excited to start international expansion in Germany. Today is a real milestone for us as it also marks the first Rivian vehicles in Europe and we’re very excited about our future in the region.”

“Amazon is committed to reaching net-zero carbon by 2040, and reducing our delivery-related emissions is a critical part of this goal,” said Rocco Bräuniger, Country Manager for Amazon.de. “Last year we delivered more than 45 million packages in Germany with electric vans and e-cargo bikes, and these new additions from Rivian will help us deliver packages more sustainably and to more customers.”

Amazon began rolling out its custom electric delivery vans from Rivian in the U.S. last summer and already has more than 3,000 vans delivering packages in over 500 U.S. cities and regions. The company aims to have 100,000 electric delivery vehicles from Rivian on the road globally by 2030, helping to save millions of metric tons of carbon per year.

Amazon’s custom electric delivery vans from Rivian are designed from the ground-up with safety, sustainability, and comfort in mind, and have been thoroughly tested by drivers in Germany. They are the product of Amazon’s partnership with Rivian, which the companies announced in 2019 when Amazon co-founded, and became the first signatory of The Climate Pledge—a commitment to reach net-zero carbon across its operations by 2040. As part of the pledge, Amazon is creating a more sustainable delivery fleet—and its work with Rivian is an important part of decarbonizing its last mile logistics as well as accelerating innovation that could help others reach net-zero carbon.

Amazon has been testing deliveries with Rivian preproduction vehicles in Europe since last year. This testing has allowed Rivian to continuously improve the vehicle’s performance, safety and durability in various climates and geographies as well as its state-of-the-art features to ensure driver satisfaction, and overall functionality. In Europe, Amazon and Rivian specially designed a shorter, thinner van than its U.S. counterpart in order to better fit in Europe’s cities.

The custom vehicles include innovative technology and features such as:

·      A safety-first design focused on superior 360-degree visibility, and vehicle features that protect drivers and pedestrians.

·       A suite of innovative safety features including a large windshield to enhance driver visibility, automatic emergency braking, adaptive cruise control, and collision warnings.

·       First-of-its-kind embedded technology that fully integrates the delivery workflow with the vehicle, enabling seamless access to routing, navigation, driver support and more.

·       Features to enhance the driver experience, and create ease on the road such as automatic door locking/unlocking as the driver approaches or leaves the vehicle, and a powered bulkhead door that opens when drivers reach their delivery location.

·       A strengthened door on the driver’s side for additional protection, and an ergonomically designed driver’s cabin and cargo area for safe, and easy movement inside the van.

·       Batteries that are light, resilient, and low cost in addition to lasting the lifetime of the vehicle.

Amazon has added thousands of charging stations at its facilities across Europe, and will continue to invest in building an infrastructure to support a more sustainable delivery fleet.

In 2022, Amazon used zero-emission vehicles, including electric vans and micro-mobility solutions like e-cargo bikes, e-scooters, and walkers, to deliver more than 120 million packages to customers in Europe. The new vans from Rivian, along with the expansion of micro-mobility hubs across European cities, will help Amazon deliver even more packages in zero-emission vehicles.