A Mercedes-Benz electric Vito van, manufactured by Daimler AG, stands on stage at the IAA Commercial … [+]
Amazon has ordered 1,800 Mercedes-Benz electric vans, a significant step toward its goal of carbon neutrality by 2040, the online retailer said Friday.
Most of the new EVs will be deployed in Europe by the end of 2020, according to Amazon. Two-thirds, or 1,200 of the vehicles will be Mercedes-Benz’s eSprinter, while 600 will be the midsize eVitos.
About two years ago Amazon agreed to buy 20,000 of Mercedes-Benz’s non-electric Sprinter vans.
The new order is not the online retail giant’s largest EV purchase.
Earlier this year Amazon ordered 100,000 electric delivery vans from startup Rivian Automotive. Amazon announced in February 2019 that it is investing $700 million in Rivian.
Rivian is producing an electric pickup truck and utility vehicle, as well as the commercial vans, at a former Mitsubishi assembly plant in Normal, Ill. The plan is to deliver the first of the Amazon vans in 2021, but the entire order of 100,000 will be spread over the next decade, with the goal of delivering 100,000 by 2030.
As part of the purchase agreement with Mercedes-Benz, the German automaker joined The Climate Pledge, an Amazon initiative launched in 2019 to become what Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos has called “the most sustainable transportation fleet in the world.”
The pledge commits signatories to achieve net zero carbon by 2040. Mercedes-Benz has said it intends to offer a carbon neutral fleet of light and commercial vehicles by 2039.
Bloomberg reported that only the Mercedes-Benz division of parent Daimler committed to The Climate Pledge. Daimler also owns Freightliner and Western Star, both manufacturers of large commercial trucks, which still rely heavily on diesel powertrains.
Earlier this month, Daimler agreed to settle charges brought by U.S. regulators that I cheated on diesel emission tests. The settlement and related charges are expected to cost the German manufacturer $1.5 billion, to be spread over three years.
Other companies with large fleets of delivery vehicles have been pushing to ween their vehicles off gasoline and diesel. Earlier this year United Parcel Service agreed to buy 10,000 electric trucks from Arrival Ltd., a U.K.-based manufacturer of battery-powered commercial trucks and buses.
General Motors is developing an all-electric van, code-named BV1, which it plans to start producing in late 2021, according to Reuters.
Ford in planning to launch a battery-only version of its Transit van in 2022.
