Amazon has just introduced the first of its all-electric delivery vans from Rivian to German roads, joining its fleet that already consists of more than 1,000 electric vans in Germany alone.
Over the coming weeks, more than 300 delivery vans from Rivian will be introduced in Munich, Berlin, and Dusseldorf. This comes as Amazon invests more than €1 billion ($1.08 billion) to electrify its transportation network throughout Europe, including over €400 million ($435 million) in Germany alone.
“We’re thrilled to see the EDV rolling out in Germany today,” vice president of Strategy & Go To Market at Rivian, Dagan Mishoulam said. “This vehicle was designed in conjunction with our partners at Amazon and not only puts driver convenience and safety first, but also the environment. We’ve had incredible feedback from drivers in the US and we’re excited to start international expansion in Germany. Today is a real milestone for us as it also marks the first Rivian vehicles in Europe and we’re very excited about our future in the region.”
Amazon is already operating more than 3,000 Rivian delivery vans across more than 500 cities and regions throughout the United States. The delivery giant plans to have 100,000 Rivian vans delivering packages globally by 2030.
Read: Rivian R2 SUV To Be Priced From $40,000 To $60,000, We’ll Get Our First Look In 2024
Testing of pre-production vehicles commenced in Europe last year. Interestingly, the van developed by Rivian for the European market is slightly different than that of the U.S. market as it was forced to make it slightly shorter and thinner to fit cities in the Old Continent. The van also has plenty of safety functions, including automatic emergency braking, adaptive cruise control, and various collision warnings. It also has an automatic door locking/unlocking function as the driver approaches or leaves the vehicle.
“Together, Amazon and Rivian designed and built a state-of-the-art electric vehicle from the ground up, and unlike anything else on the road today,” director of Amazon’s Global Fleet & Product, Neil Emery said. “The safety and comfort of our drivers were top of mind for us throughout this process, and we’ve raised the bar on both with the vehicle we are rolling out in Europe today.”
