Retail giant Amazon is now using ten all-electric Mercedes-Benz delivery vans to dispatch goods from its fulfilment centre in Munich, Germany.
The ten eVito vans handed over to Amazon by Mercedes-Benz are the first of a larger planned fleet for the online retailer’s Munich operations, where it has also installed dedicated electric vehicle charging infrastructure specifically for the new zero emissions fleet.
Amazon originally ordered 100 of the all-electric transit vans in late 2018 according to Engadget, and in September 2019, Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos announced Amazon would become carbon neutral by 2040 as part of a “Climate Pledge” designed to reach zero net carbon as per the Paris agreement a full ten years early.
That announcement included a massive 100,000 order of all-electric vans to be made by Michigan EV startup Rivian, in which Amazon has invested $US700 million ($A1 million).
While the Mercedes-Benz order is somewhat more modest, the eVito is at least in production.
Adam Elman, senior lead for sustainability at Amazon in Europe said in a statement: “We’re really pleased about the continuation of our collaboration with an incredible partner which will now enable us to use electric vehicles in our Munich fleet.
“Amazon recently co-founded “Climate Pledge” and strives to implement the conditions of the Paris Agreement on climate change in 2040 already – a whole ten years ahead of the Agreement’s defined fulfilment date of 2050. Strong partnerships such as this one with Daimler will enable us to achieve this aim”.
Stefan Sonntag, head of new vehicle sales within the Mercedes-Benz Vans sales organisation for Germany, said in a statement that all-electric vans such as the eVito are perfect for inner-city delivery traffic for courier, express and package deliveries.
“That’s why we’re so happy that Amazon has opted for the eVito and will now also be in a position to offer its drivers and customers in the Munich area all of the advantages which locally emission-free driving with our impressive Mercedes-Benz Vans offers.”
The Mercedes-Benz eVito vans deployed by Amazon are the long wheelbase variant, and with a 41kWh battery offer a range of up to 184km according to the German automaker. With maximum output of 85kW and 295Nm torque, it performs well in inner city conditions where it can have a top speed set of 80km/hr to maximise range.
Bridie Schmidt is associate editor for The Driven, sister site of Renew Economy. She has been writing about electric vehicles since 2018, and has a keen interest in the role that zero-emissions transport has to play in sustainability. She has participated in podcasts such as Download This Show with Marc Fennell and Shirtloads of Science with Karl Kruszelnicki and is co-organiser of the Northern Rivers Electric Vehicle Forum. Bridie also owns a Tesla Model 3 and has it available for hire on evee.com.au.