Global on line retailer, Amazon has announced it has made a massive step towards cleaning uo its European truck fleet, revealing it has ordered 200 Mercedes-Benz fully-electric eActros 600 heavy trucks from Daimler to serve its German and UK markets, in what is Amazon’s largest electric truck order so far.
The e-commerce giant said the trucks will start joining its network later this year and will be deployed on “high-mileage routes” across Amazon’s middle-mile network between fulfilment centres, sort centres and delivery stations in Europe.
“This is a a major milestone for us, decarbonising the heavy goods sector is the most challenging part of the transportation space,” said ” Andreas Marschner, Amazon’s vice president of Amazon Worldwide operations sustainability.
Amazon said this order is part of its commitment to hit net-zero carbon emissions across its operations by 2040. It is also the largest electric truck order yet for the Mercedes-Benz Trucks brand, according to Daimler.
Logistics companies have been struggling to find electric trucks that provide enough range to handle demanding delivery routes as well as the charging infrastructure to keep them on the road, apart from the price tags which are way above those of equivalent diesel trucks.
The 40-tonne eActros 600 boasts a range of 500 km which Marschner says makes it adaptable for Amazon’s European delivery network.
However Marschner added that Amazon is supporting the trucks’ roll-out by building a 360 kilowatt fast charger network on its own European sites, which can charge a truck from 20 per cent to 80 per cent in less than an hour, which it says is also compatible with legal driver rest breaks.
He added that efforts to boost charging infrastructure in the European Union and the United Kingdom are still in early stages and Amazon is working with charging companies and regulators to speed up investments.
“The major transportation corridors in the UK and Germany are still very limited with public charging and high-capacity charging we would need for trucks,” Marschner said.
“This is a challenge these days as it reduces the ability to use these assets,” he concluded.
