Amazon.com will put more than 1 billion euros into a fleet of electric vans and trucks in Europe.
The company wants to be carbon-neutral by 2040.
London: Amazon.com Inc. (AMZN.O) said on Monday that it will invest more than 1 billion euros ($974.8 million) over the next five years in electric vans, trucks, and low-emission package hubs in Europe. This will speed up the company’s efforts to reach net-zero carbon emissions.
The store said the money was also meant to encourage innovation in the transportation industry and build more charging stations for electric cars in public places (EVs).
The U.S. online store said that the investment would help grow its fleet of electric vans in Europe from 3,000 to more than 10,000 by 2025.
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The company didn’t say how much of its European last-mile delivery fleet is electric right now, but they did say that these 3,000 vans with no emissions delivered more than 100 million packages in 2021.
Amazon also said it wants to buy more than 1,500 electric heavy goods vehicles in the next few years. These vehicles are used for “middle-mile” deliveries to package hubs.
Even though large logistics companies like United Parcel Service Inc. (UPS.N) and FedEx Corp. (FDX.N), which deliver packages, have promised to buy a lot of zero-emission electric vans and trucks, there aren’t that many on the market yet.
Several new companies are in a race to be the first to sell electric vans or trucks. They are up against established companies like General Motors Co. (GM.N) and Ford Motor Co. (F.N).
Amazon has ordered 100,000 electric vans from Rivian Automotive Inc. (RIVN.O) through 2025, which is its biggest order.
Along with EVs, the company said it would invest in thousands of chargers at locations all over Europe.
The store said it will also spend money to double the number of “micro-mobility hubs” in Europe, which are now in more than 20 cities.
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Amazon has used these hubs in the middle of the country to run new delivery methods, such as electric cargo bikes or deliveries on foot, to cut down on pollution.
The company wants to be carbon-neutral by 2040.
