Amazon is to invest more than €1bn (£877m) over the next five years to support work in further electrifying its fleet and transportation network across Europe.
The work, which includes a pledge of more than £300m in the UK, will expand the firm’s existing EV fleet, accelerating company progress to being net-zero carbon by 2040.
Amazon already has more than 3,000 electric vans carrying out deliveries across Europe and, with the new investment, expects to grow its fleet to more than 10,000 by 2025. It also expects to purchase and roll out more than 1,500 eHGVs in its European fleet, including more than 700 in the UK in the coming years.
But the investment is also intended to help spark innovation in zero-emission vehicles and encourage the deployment of public charging infrastructure, helping enable the entire industry to reduce emissions.
“Our transportation network is one of the most challenging areas of our business to decarbonise, and to achieve net-zero carbon will require a substantial and sustained investment,” said Andy Jassy, Amazon CEO.
“Deploying thousands of electric vans, long-haul trucks, and bikes will help us shift further away from traditional fossil fuels – and hopefully, further encourage transportation and automotive industries in Europe and around the world to continue scaling and innovating, as we will have to work together to reach our climate goals.”
The investment also brings more electric delivery vans, e-cargo bikes and on-foot deliveries to cities across Europe. Amazon already has micromobility hubs in more than 20 cities across Europe, including London, and expects to double that figure by the end of 2025, enabling further use of zero-emission delivery methods.
Amazon will also invest in thousands of chargers across its European facilities, helping to improve fleet charging hardware. It will additionally build hundreds of specialised fast chargers across its European facilities to power its eHGVs, allowing the company to charge the vehicles in approximately two hours.
The news was greeted by Transport Secretary Anne-Marie Trevelyan, who said such announcements were vital to reducing emissions and meeting net zero goals, while also supporting growth.
“By adding thousands of electric and zero-emission vehicles to its fleet, Amazon is not only working to make their deliveries more sustainable, but also stimulating innovation across industry in the drive to cleaner transport,” she commented.
