Amazon has revealed the first of three customized electric delivery vehicles to be built by Rivian. The company says it expects to have 10,000 of them in service by 2022 and a total of 100,000 plying the highways and byways of North America by 2030.
It’s all part of Amazon’s Climate Pledge, which commits the company to being carbon neutral by 2040.
According to an Amazon blog post, the new van is an innovative design that involves far more than just a battery and an electric motor.
Here’s a list of features it claims it couldn’t get from any traditional delivery van manufacturer:
- State-of-the-art sensor detection, a suite of highway and traffic assist technology, and a large windshield to enhance driver visibility.
- Exterior cameras around the vehicle that are linked to a digital display inside the cabin, giving the driver a 360-degree view outside the vehicle.
- Alexa integration for hands-free access to route information and the latest weather updates.
- A strengthened door on the driver’s side for additional protection.
- A “dancefloor” inside the driver’s cabin for easy movement inside the van.
- Bright tail lights surrounding the rear of the vehicle to easily detect braking.
- Three levels of shelving with a bulkhead door, which can easily be opened and closed for additional driver protection while on the road.
According to the company, drivers will be so excited about the new electric vans, they will use the “dance floor” in their vehicles to do the tarantella while they make their deliveries. Specs about batteries, range, charging speeds and so forth will have to wait for another day.
The traditional delivery van is dead. Long live the new delivery van as imagined by Amazon and Rivian, neither of whom had ever built an actual motor vehicle before.
Amazon currently operates hundreds of electric vehicles worldwide and has invested in electric vehicle charging stations for its partners to use, with plans to expand this infrastructure.
The company announced that it’s adding 1,800 electric delivery vehicles this year to its fleet in Europe and is also adding 10,000 electric delivery vehicles to its fleet in India, operating in over 20 cities by 2025.
In the EU, Amazon also uses e-cargo bikes for deliveries in some urban centers and operates 200 e-cargo bikes in the New York City area.
Reference- Electrek, InsideEVs, Amazon Blog & PR, Clean Technica