Amazon has said it now has 1,000 of Rivian’s electric vehicles making deliveries across the US as it aims for a fleet of 100,000 by 2030.
“Today marks a significant milestone in our Climate Pledge commitment. Rivian was one of the first companies Amazon invested in through the Climate Pledge Fund, and we’re just getting started on our journey to have 100,000 of Rivian’s vehicles on the road by 2030,” CEO Andy Jassy said in a statement.
“These new vehicles are also great for drivers — they were designed with driver input and feedback along the way, and they’re among the safest and most comfortable delivery vehicles on the road today,” Jassy added.
Amazon’s Rivian fleet are now making deliveries in Baltimore, Chicago, Dallas, Kansas City, Nashville, Phoenix, San Diego, Seattle, St. Louis, and other cities within the US.
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The tech giant said it would soon have thousands of vans making deliveries in hundreds of cities in the US.
In order to support the new fleet, Amazon has installed thousands of charging stations at delivery stations.
The two companies have been working together since February 2020 when Amazon placed an order for the custom delivery trucks.
Amazon said that before it approached Rivian for the project, it spent 18 months considering the available electric vehicle options before deciding to make its own with Rivian.
The electric vehicle maker constructs the fleet at its factory in Illinois, with a number of safety features including automated emergency braking, front-wheel, and all-wheel drive options, lane keep assist.
The vehicles will also include a pedestrian warning system, traffic design recognition and an automatic warning system that detects and alerts distracted driver behaviour, the company said.
All vehicles will also be integrated into Amazon’s logistics management system and Alexa-enabled, meaning drivers will be able to use voice commands to get help while driving or moving packages in the cargo bay.
Thousands of charging stations cross the US and Europe and being built in preparation for a wider rollout, the company said.
Amazon global fleet and products director Ross Rachey said: “We’re trying to build the most sustainable transportation fleet in the world.
“It also needs to be the most functional, the highest performing, the safest.”
