Online retail giant Amazon is electrifying its massive fleet of delivery and supply chain vehicles, and as part of the initiative, it recently placed an order with Swedish car manufacturer Volvo for 20 electric trucks. This is in line with the company's commitment since 2019, which is to make its entirety carbon-neutral.
Agreement Between Amazon and Volvo
Volvo announced a press release today. In a report by Electrek, it confirmed, "Volvo Trucks will deliver fully electric heavy-duty trucks to Amazon in Germany by year-end. The 20 Volvo FH Electric are expected to drive more than one million road [kilometres] annually, fuelled with electricity instead of diesel."
According to Andreas Marschner, Amazon's vice president of Transportation Services Europe, the company is dedicated to reducing the amount of carbon dioxide emissions produced by its fleets, and yet, the middle mile has been "a notoriously hard-to-abate sector."
Marschner said that while Amazon is operating one of the fast-growing commercial transportation electrification initiatives, it will continue to invest and innovate in order to decarbonize its operations and provide clients with package delivery that produces no emissions.
Volvo executive for Product Management Jessica Sandström also mentioned how the transport businesses became essential to driving the effort to reduce its carbon footprint. She added, "I'm glad that Amazon is working with us to help reduce their emissions in longer and heavier transport assignments."
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More Details on Volvo FH Electric Trucks
The Volvo FH Electric is a heavy-duty vehicle truck with a capacity of "up to 44 tonnes GCW."
The car manufacturer divulged some of its technical specifications. The battery capacity is 540 kWh with continuous output power at 490 kW. The range is up to 300 km or 186 miles, although the Volvo FH Electric may travel up to 500 km in a typical workday if a top-up charge is added, such as during the lunch break.
The Climate Pledge
Back in 2019, the online retail giant made an announcement on its brand new project called "The Climate Pledge." It is the company's commitment to achieving net-zero carbon emissions by the year 2040, which is ten years earlier than what is required by the Paris Agreement.
Amazon co-founded The Climate Pledge intending to build a cross-sector community of companies, organizations, individuals, and partners working together to address the current climate crisis. This also aims to overcome the challenges of decarbonizing the economy.
Previous Electric Vehicle Purchase
Prior to the truck purchase, the news about Amazon and American automaker Rivian's partnership surfaced.
Apparently, Amazon already ordered 100,000 electric vans from Rivian to reduce the negative effects of carbon emissions on the environment.
Two months ago, Rivian revealed that its electric vans had delivered over 430,000 packages to Amazon's consumers.
Read Also: Amazon Rivian Van to Use Netradyne 'Always-On' Surveillance Cameras Inside Vehicles for Safety
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Written by Trisha Kae Andrada
