Amazon To Invest 1bn Euros In Europe Electric Fleet

Amazon is to invest more than 1 billion euros (£880m) over the next five years to expand its fleet of electric vans, lorries and cargo bikes as it seeks to become net-zero carbon by 2040.

The firm said it would invest £300m in the UK and plans to operate up to 700 electric HGVs in the country by 2025, up from only five today, as it looks to more than triple its fleet of electric vans from 3,000 to more than 10,000 across Europe.

The company didn’t say what percentage of its European last-mile delivery fleet is currently electric but said the zero-emission vans delivered more than 100 million packages in 2021.

Electric HGVs

Amazon said it wants to purchase more than 1,500 electric HGVs for European deliveries in the coming years and would install hundreds of fast charging points at its European warehouses and delivery hubs to allow vehicle recharging in about two hours.

The firm said it was aiming to more than double the number of European cities in which it operates “micromobility hubs”, which enable last-mile delivery via cargo bike or on foot, from more than 20 currently.

The Covid-19 pandemic has helped to spur a boom in online orders and deliveries in recent years, while fuel prices have spiked in part due to the conflict in Ukraine.

Amazon said it wanted to encourage other retailers to invest in electric vehicles and to stimulate the development of public charging infrastructure.

‘Sustained investment’

“Deploying thousands of electric vans, long-haul trucks, and bikes will help us shift further away from traditional fossil fuels,” said Amazon chief executive Andy Jassy.

Achieving net-zero carbon emissions requires “a substantial and sustained investment” and that the transport network was “one of the most challenging areas” to decarbonise.

UK transport secretary Anne-Marie Trevelyan said the government supported Amazon’s move.

“Significant investments like Amazon’s today will be vital to reducing emissions and meeting our net zero goals, while supporting growth at the same time,” she said.

Cargo bikes

Amazon launched its first micromobility hub in Hackney, east London, earlier this year enabling e-cargo bikes and on-foot delivery staff to replace thousands of van deliveries in the city.

Amazon’s largest electric van order to date is for 100,000 vehicles from start-up Rivian through 2025.

The company also signed a deal with Stellantis in August 2021 to provide additional electric vans.