Amazon has announced plans to invest more than €1 billion over the next five years, including more than £300 million in the UK, to further electrify and decarbonise its transportation network across Europe, delivering packages to customers more sustainably.
The ecommerce giant said the investment is also intended to drive innovation across the industry and encourage more public charging infrastructure, which will help enable the broader transportation industry to more quickly 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,” explained Andy Jassy, Amazon CEO.
Amazon has more than 3,000 electric vans delivering packages to customers across Europe and, with this latest investment, expects to grow its fleet to more than 10,000 by 2025.
It has also launched micromobility hubs in more than 20 cities across Europe, including London, and expects to double that figure by the end of 2025.
In addition to these new vans and micromobility hubs and vehicles, Amazon will also invest in thousands of chargers across its European facilities. The investment will allow the company and its partners to improve fleet charging hardware.
Amazon added that long haul transportation is a hard-to-decarbonise sector due to the size and weight of the trucks and trailers, and the long distances they need to travel.
Electric heavy goods vehicles (eHGVs) are a promising technology, but eHGV production and charging infrastructure availability are limited. Amazon currently has five eHGVs on the road in the UK, and will have 20 on the road in Germany by the end of this year.
It plans to use its size and scale to help spark the scaling of eHGV production so Amazon and others can more quickly transition away from diesel trucks. With the investment announced today, Amazon 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.
To power its eHGVs, Amazon will build hundreds of specialised fast chargers across its European facilities, allowing the company to charge the vehicles in approximately two hours.
Jassy added: “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.”
