It has been announced that Amazon is investing more than €1bn to add electric lorries, vans and cargo bikes to its already growing fleet of delivery vehicles across Europe over the next five years.
The retailer giant has said that it would invest £300m in the UK, where it plans to have up to 700 electric HGVs by 2025. Currently, the company only has five. They also plan to triple their fleet of electric vans to 10,000 across the continent.
With the expansion of EVs, comes infrastructure. Hundreds of fast charging points will be installed in the company’s European warehouses and delivery hubs to allow the new fleet to charge in around two hours.
Since the COVID pandemic, online deliveries and online shopping have become the primary way many consumers get their goods, and therefore the company’s investment plan hones into this boom and aims to drive up profits for the company.
Amazon has said that it hopes that by taking this step, it will encourage other retailers to invest in electric vehicles and help spur the building of more public charging infrastructure.
Andy Jassy, the chief executive of Amazon, said: “Deploying thousands of electric vans, long-haul trucks, and bikes will help us shift further away from traditional fossil fuels.”
Amazon has already launched a fleet of e-cargo bikes and a team of on-foot delivery staff earlier this year, to replace thousands of van deliveries in London and this marks the next step in their development.
Anne-Marie Trevelyan, the UK transport secretary, said she supported Amazon’s move. “Significant investments like Amazon’s today will be vital to reducing emissions and meeting our net zero goals, while supporting growth at the same time,” she said.
The UK government is aiming to encourage small businesses to get on their bikes and use alternative modes of transportation to pave the road to net-zero.
