Amazon is expanding zero-exhaust emission deliveries with the UK’s largest-ever order of electric trucks and launching rail deliveries across the UK.
More than 140 new electric Mercedes-Benz Truck eActros 600 trucks and eight Volvo FM Battery Electric trucks are joining Amazon’s transportation network over the next 18 months as part of the UK’s largest-ever electric heavy vehicles (eHGV) order.
Once fully operational, these new eHGVs are expected to transport more than 300 million packages each year with no exhaust emissions. The new electric trucks will haul trailers with products and packages to and from fulfilment centres, sort centres and delivery stations to customer doorsteps.
To support the expanded fleet, Amazon will install additional fast charging infrastructure across key UK sites, including 360kW electric charging points capable of charging the 40-tonne Mercedes-Benz trucks from 20 to 80 per cent in just over an hour. The new electric trucks will have a range of 310 miles (500km) on full charge.
Amazon has also launched rail deliveries at scale. Products will be loaded onto train carriages on the fully electric West Coast Main Line, which runs between Scotland and the Midlands. The products are picked from stations close to local Amazon delivery and fulfilment centres – ready for sorting and packing ahead of customer deliveries. To further reduce on-road traffic, products are also transported from stations and Amazon’s wider fulfilment network to ferry ports while giving small and medium-sized UK businesses easier access to European markets.
On-foot deliveries are also being made to customers in central London via the help of carts that can be restocked on-the-go from vans dotted around the capital. Developed in partnership with the London Boroughs of Hackney, Westminster and Islington, these new deliveries will help Amazon make more zero-exhaust emission deliveries than ever before, with fewer motorised van trips.
Nicola Fyfe, EU VP of Amazon Logistics said: “Decarbonising our transport network is key in helping us achieve our goal to reach net-zero carbon emissions across our operations by 2040.”
“The combination of our – and the UK’s – biggest ever order of eHGVs, the UK’s electric rail network now being used to transport customer packages, and the launch of restocking on the move on-foot deliveries, all alongside our partners’ fleet of electric vans and e-cargo bikes, will help us move more customer orders across our fulfilment network with zero exhaust emissions. This is a win for our customers, the environment and our business.”
Share