Amazon (AMZN) announced on Friday it is buying 1,800 electric vans from Mercedes-Benz (DAI.DE) for its European delivery fleets, as part of its goal to be carbon-neutral by 2040.
Chief executive Jeff Bezos said the Mercedes order was part of Amazon’s “journey to build the most sustainable transportation fleet in the world.”
The online retail giant said it will put the 1,200 Mercedes e-Sprinters and 600 eVitos into its fleets by the end of the year. Five hundred of the e-vans will go into service in the UK, and 800 of them in Germany.
In September 2019, Amazon signed a contract to buy 100,000 electric delivery vans from Rivian, a US electric-vehicle startup backed by Amazon and Ford (F), by 2030.
Delivery giants everywhere are moving towards electrifying their fleets, including UPS (UPS), which is taking 10,000 electric vans from Arrival in the UK. Big car companies like General Motors (GM) and Ford also have electric delivery trucks in the pipeline.
Mercedes on Friday signed Amazon’s Climate Pledge, which calls on companies to commit to being carbon neutral by 2040.
