Amazon invests more than 1 billion euros to build an electric van and truck fleet in Europe

The e-commerce giant Amazon said on Monday that the company will invest more than 1 billion euros in the next five years to build electric vans, truck pairs, and low emissions across Europe wrapping the center, thereby accelerating the achievement of its carbon-neutral net-zero goal.

The company said the investment also aims to spur innovation across the transportation industry and encourage more public charging infrastructure for electric vehicles. Amazon said the investment will allow the company to grow its fleet of electric vans in Europe from 3,000 to more than 10,000 by 2025.

Amazon doesn't disclose the proportion of electric vehicles currently in its European last-mile delivery fleet, but they say the 3,000 zero-emission vans will deliver more than 100 million packages in 2021.

Amazon also said it hopes to buy more than 1,500 electric heavy-duty trucks over the next few years to deliver goods to package centers.

While large logistics companies such as package delivery companies UPS.N and FedEx have pledged to buy large quantities of zero-emission electric vans and trucks, the number of vehicles available on the market is still small.

Multiple start-ups are racing to bring electric vans or trucks to market and face increasing competition from traditional manufacturers such as General Motors Co and Ford Motor Co.

Amazon's largest electric van order is for 100,000 vehicles from Rivian Automotive, which is expected to be delivered in 2025. In addition to electric vehicles, Amazon said it will invest in thousands of charging stations in facilities across Europe.

The company said it would also make another investment to double the number of its European network of "micro-mobility" centers from more than 20 cities now. The company is now using these facilities to offer new delivery methods, such as electric cargo bikes or walking deliveries, to reduce emissions.

Amazon's plan is to achieve net-zero carbon emissions by 2040.