By Mark McSherry
Amazon announced it has ordered more than 1,800 electric vehicles from Mercedes-Benz Vans to expand its delivery fleet in Europe this year.
The deal is Mercedes-Benz’s largest electric vehicle order to date.
“Amazon and Mercedes-Benz share a commitment to reduce emissions from the transportation sector, and Mercedes-Benz also announced today it has joined The Climate Pledge, which calls on signatories to be net zero carbon across their businesses by 2040 — a decade ahead of the Paris Agreement goal of 2050,” said Amazon in a statement.
Marcus Breitschwerdt, head of Mercedes-Benz Vans, said: “I am delighted that we are further intensifying our long-standing partnership with Amazon and working together on the battery-electric future of transportation.
“With the eVito and the eSprinter, we have electric vehicles in our portfolio, which are ideally suited for the requirements of the courier-, express- and parcel-service industry for goods delivery on the so-called ‘last mile’ in terms of their equipment and range.
“They show that local emission-free driving, convincing performance, comfort and low operating costs can be combined perfectly.”
Fabio Massimo Castaldo, Vice President at the European Parliament, said: “Amazon’s investment is a strong and concrete sign of its commitment and alignment to EU priorities.
“Amazon continues to contribute to the achievement of the EU Green Deal goals, foster technological innovation and generate resilient and sustainable jobs in Europe.
“I hope that other corporations will follow Amazon’s example in the near future.”
Amazon founder and CEO Jeff Bezos said: “We welcome the bold leadership demonstrated by Mercedes-Benz by signing up to The Climate Pledge and committing to ambitious action to address climate change.
“We need continued innovation and partnership from auto manufacturers like Mercedes-Benz to decarbonize the transportation sector and tackle the climate crisis.
“Amazon is adding 1,800 electric delivery vehicles from Mercedes-Benz as part of our journey to build the most sustainable transportation fleet in the world, and we will be moving fast to get these vans on the road this year.”
Ola Källenius, chairman of the board of management of Daimler AG and Mercedes-Benz AG, said: “At Mercedes-Benz, we have set ourselves the ambitious target to make the transformation of mobility a success story.
“By joining ‘The Climate Pledge’ we are building on our goal to consistently pursue emission-free mobility and sustainable vehicle production.”