LONDON, Oct. 10 (Reuters) – Amazon.com Inc (AMZN.O) said Monday it will invest more than €1 billion ($974.8 million) in electric vans, trucks and low-emission parcel hubs across Europe over the next five years. , accelerating its pursuit of net-zero carbon.
The retailer said the investment was also aimed at spurring innovation in the transportation sector and encouraging more public charging infrastructure for electric vehicles (EVs).
The US online retailer said the investment would help more than triple its electric van fleet in Europe from 3,000 vehicles to more than 10,000 by 2025.
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The company did not say what percentage of its European last-mile fleet is electric today, but said those 3,000 zero-emission vans will have delivered more than 100 million packages by 2021.
Amazon said it also hopes to buy more than 1,500 electric trucks in the coming years — used for “middle-mile” shipments to parcel hubs.
While a number of major logistics companies — including parcel delivery companies United Parcel Service Inc (UPS.N) and FedEx Corp (FDX.N) — have committed to buying large numbers of zero-emission electric vans and trucks, there are still not many available to buy. to buy.
A number of startups are racing to bring electric vans or trucks to market and face increasing competition from legacy manufacturers such as General Motors Co (GM.N) and Ford Motor Co (FN).
Amazon’s largest electric van order is for 100,000 vehicles from Rivian Automotive Inc (RIVN.O) through 2025.
The company said it will invest in thousands of chargers in facilities across Europe in addition to EVs.
The retailer said it will also invest today in doubling its European network of “micromobility” hubs from more than 20 cities.
Amazon has used those centrally located hubs to run new delivery methods, including electric cargo bikes or foot deliveries to reduce emissions.
The company plans to be carbon neutral by 2040.
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Reporting by Nick Carey in London Editing by Matthew Lewis
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