Amazon adds 50 electric trucks to its delivery fleet in a bid to reduce pollution

Amazon is deploying 50 battery-electric heavy-duty trucks successful California, which it claims is nan largest specified fleet successful nan country. The institution says nan caller trucks correspond an important measurement successful its ngo to destruct contamination from its world operations — even arsenic its carbon emissions person spiked successful caller years.

Amazon says nan trucks will beryllium integrated into first-mile operations, successful which equipment are moved from instrumentality ships astatine nan ports to fulfillment centers, arsenic good arsenic middle-mile operations, successful which packages are transported from fulfillment centers to transportation centers. From there, nan packages will beryllium loaded into Amazon’s last-mile fleet, a information of which are electrical transportation vans produced by Rivian.

The heavy-duty trucks are produced by Volvo VNR, a section of nan Swedish automaker that makes Class 8 tractor trailers. Volvo makes respective models pinch a scope of up to 275 miles, 565kWh of artillery capacity, and a zero to 80 percent charging clip of 90 minutes. Towing capacity tin apical 66,000 pounds, depending connected nan model, pinch artillery scope apt to beryllium negatively impacted pinch much weight to tow.

Some of nan caller trucks will activity arsenic portion of Amazon’s drayage fleet, moving equipment off-loaded from cargo ships astatine nan Port of Los Angeles and Long Beach to its fulfillment halfway successful Santa Fe Springs, California. A twelve trucks are expected to beryllium put into work earlier nan extremity of nan year.

For middle-mile services, Amazon expects to deploy 35 electrical trucks to vessel equipment betwixt nan fulfillment centers and a number of different locations, including benignant centers, aerial facilities, and transportation centers. From there, nan packages get picked up by Amazon’s transportation vans for their last journeys.

“We’re proud to motorboat our largest fleet of electrical heavy-duty vehicles yet successful California,” said Udit Madan, vice president of worldwide Amazon operations, successful a statement.

To beryllium sure, nan immense mostly of nan trucks and vans delivering your Amazon, FedEx, and UPS packages are powered by fossil fuels. A batch of companies person plans to electrify their fleets, but nan existent number of existent EVs connected nan roadworthy coming is minuscule.