When Amazon ordered 100,000 electric delivery vans from Rivian back in 2019, it claimed to be "the largest order ever of electric delivery vehicles." Three years later, 1,000+ Rivian electric vans will be on the road making deliveries this holiday season in 100 cities across the US.
The vans, which debuted in July, have already delivered 5 million packages in Baltimore, Chicago, Dallas, Kansas City, Nashville, Phoenix, San Diego, Seattle, and St. Louis, Amazon says.
Over the next few months, Amazon will introduce the vans to more cities, including Austin, Boston, Denver, Houston, Indianapolis, Las Vegas, Madison, Newark, New York City, Oakland, Pittsburgh, Portland, Provo, and Salt Lake City.
The holiday sales volumes will be the first major test to see if electric delivery vans can keep up. Amazon has already begun its typical strategy of hiring over 150,000 seasonal warehouse workers, CNBC reports, to help with the massive order spike compared to the rest of the year.
“We’re always excited for the holiday season, but making deliveries to customers across the country with our new zero-emission vehicles for the first time makes this year unique,” says Udit Madan, vice president of Amazon Transportation.
Rivian's Electric Delivery Van (EDV) has a range of 201 miles, Rivian said in a December 2021 letter to shareholders. In July, the company said it "has added thousands of charging stations at its delivery stations across the country, and will continue to invest in building an infrastructure to support a more sustainable delivery fleet."
“Fleet electrification is essential to reaching the world’s zero-emissions goal,” says Jiten Behl, chief growth officer at Rivian. Amazon expects the 100,000 delivery vans to save 4 million metric tons of carbon per year.
"Amazon is committed to reaching net-zero carbon by 2040 as a part of its commitment to The Climate Pledge, and electric delivery vehicles are an important part of Amazon’s work to decarbonize its transportation fleet," Amazon says.
FedEx also started electrifying its fleet this year, using vans from GM-backed BrightDrop. Fleet electrification has taken off in multiple industries, from school buses to PepsiCo semi-trucks.
Amazon has had a slower-than-expected start to launching the vans, having originally stated they would start delivering in 2021, but the company maintains the original 2030 timeline for all 100,000 vehicles to enter service.
It's unclear whether the delay falls on Amazon or Rivian, as Rivian has experienced production-limiting supply chain disruption in recent years on its pickup truck and SUV lines. Amazon owns 20% of Rivian, the New York Times reports, thanks to a $1.3 billion investment.