Amazon Delivery EVs Hitting the Streets

Some cities across the US will start seeing Amazon's new electric vehicle (EV) delivery vans out and about very soon—possibly even today.

This new fleet of vehicles, designed in partnership with EV manufacturer Rivian, has been in the works in some capacity for the past three years. The two companies joined forces in 2019 when Amazon kicked off its Climate Pledge with the goal of reaching net-zero carbon output by 2040. Whether or not Amazon will meet that carbon reduction goal remains to be seen, but the new fleet of EVs is definitely a step towards it.

The main point of EVs is they're much cleaner and better for the environment than standard gas-powered vehicles. So, of course, one of the main benefits of replacing a fleet of delivery trucks/vans with them is to cut back on environmental damage. There are a lot of Amazon delivery vehicles out there, and those emissions add up.

Delivery EVs have other, less immediately obvious benefits, though. Driver comfort and safety are being considered more thoroughly. Improved visibility and other built-in sensors are meant to keep pedestrians and other drivers on the road safer as well. And Amazon believes the newly integrated driver assistance technology will make package routing (and by extension, delivery) easier, safer, and faster all-around.

Amazon/Rivian delivery EVs are hitting the streets now in Baltimore, Chicago, Dallas, Kansas City, Nashville, Phoenix, and more locations, with the expectation to replace many of Amazon's gas-powered delivery vehicles across 100 cities by the end of 2022.

Correction 7/25/2022: Fixed an incorrect date in the final paragraph.