Amazon believes so much in the future of electric mobility that it has now made a record-breaking order for new EVs. The company's founder, Jeff Bezos, announced late last week that Amazon has placed an order of 100,000 electric vans, which is going to be delivered over the next decade.
The order was made with electric vehicle startup Rivian Automotive. The order is the largest-ever electric vehicle purchase in automotive history.
The Michigan-based electric manufacturer is expected to deliver the first 10,000 electric vans by 2021. Amazon expects all of its orders to be delivered and fully operational by 2030.
Amazon did not reveal the total expenditure it had incurred for the order nor did it reveal how much Rivian was charging them for each vehicle. The company did announce that the order was separate from the $700 million funding pledge it made with the company back in February.
Amazon mentioned after it had made the $700 million pledge that it was very much impressed with Rivian and had recognized its potential to become a major player in the commercial EV market. US automotive giant Ford apparently also shared the same sentiments and quickly made a $500 million bet on the company. Ford then announced that Rivian will be part of its $11 billion investment into its full electrification.
Bezos had revealed details about his company's massive order during the National Press Club event in Washington last week. The move to shift its delivery fleet to electric-powered vehicles was part of Bezos' speech regarding a renewed focus on combating climate change. Bezos revealed during his speech that utilizing 100,000 electric vans will essentially eliminate 4 million metric tons of carbon emissions, significantly lowering the company's carbon footprint.
Apart from trying to do its part in saving the environment, the massive order of new EVs also plays into the company's strategy of becoming the leading urban delivery service provider in the market. Amazon had previously stated its intention of beating out rivals such as FedEx and UPS in overnight and postal product deliveries.
With its growing warehouse network, Amazon plans to utilize new types of transport, such as electric vehicles and even drones, to dominate its rivals in the particular space. The shift to electric vehicles also fits perfectly into the company's future plans of utilizing autonomous driving technologies.
With increasing government emissions mandates and the growing challenge of serving highly urbanized markets, experts believe that autonomous driving and EVs will become necessary technologies for companies such as Amazon.
