Amazon places landmark electric vans order with Rivian

Amazon has ordered 100,000 electric delivery trucks from Rivian as part of its aim to become carbon-neutral by 2040, 10 years earlier than is outlined by the United Nations Paris Agreement.

This is the largest order to date of any electric delivery vehicles, with Rivian beginning deployment in 2021. Amazon led a $700 million investment round in the venture earlier this year. The e-commerce giant plans to have 10,000 vehicles on the road as early as 2022 and all 100,000 by 2030. It claims that this will save four million metric tons of carbon per year by 2030.

“We’re done being in the middle of the herd on this issue – we’ve decided to use our size and scale to make a difference. If a company with as much physical infrastructure as Amazon – which delivers more than 10 billion items a year – can meet the Paris Agreement 10 years early, then any company can,” says Jeff Bezos, Amazon Founder and CEO.

“I’ve been talking with other CEOs of global companies, and I’m finding a lot of interest in joining the pledge. Large companies signing The Climate Pledge will send an important signal to the market that it’s time to invest in the products and services the signatories will need to meet their commitments.”

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