Amazon is adding thousands more electric vehicles to its European operations.
The e-retail giant is investing more than £880 million to increase the amount of electric cars, vans and cargo bikes used in delivery routes across Europe in the next five years.
In the UK, Amazon are looking to spend £300 million in order to have an expected 700 electric HGVs in the next three years. Currently, they have five in operation. They also intend to have 10,000 electric vans in the same period, representing a tripling of their present amount.
In addition, the Jeff Bezos-founded company is looking to install charging points at their warehouses and delivery hubs that will allow vehicles to be charged in roughly two hours. They are also seeking to increase European cities with “micro mobility hubs” -which permit deliveries to carried out through cargo bike and walking - from 20 to 40.
Their CEO, Andy Jassy said: “Deploying thousands of electric vans, long-haul trucks, and bikes will help us shift further away from traditional fossil fuels.”
He added that getting Amazon to zero carbon emissions needs “substantial and sustained investment” and called the transport network “one of the most challenging areas” to reduce carbon.
Anne-Marie Trevelyan, the UK government’s transport secretary supported the move.
She said: “Significant investments like Amazon’s today will be vital to reducing emissions and meeting our net zero goals, while supporting growth at the same time.”
Amazon debuted their e-cargo bikes scheme in London and introduced a team of staff who deliver packages on foot.
