Amazon invests in e-mobility

By 2040, Amazon aims to reduce net emissions of emitted carbon dioxide to zero within its shipping operations. Before net-zero emissions can be achieved, there is still a long way to go - which, as CEO Andrew Jassy reminded us, "requires significant and sustained investment". And that is precisely the company's action plan: to mobilise one billion euros for the electrification of delivery and goods transport over the next five years - 400 million euros of which are planned for the German market alone. 

The fleet of electric vehicles is to more than triple. The 3,000 cars with electric drives that currently deliver Amazon parcels across Europe without emissions are to become more than 10,000. In addition to these, the e-commerce giant also wants to use more sustainable alternatives for longer routes and for transport to and from the shipping centres. Amazon will purchase around 1,500 trucks with electric motors in the future, with the intention of eventually increasing this number. Part of the money will be invested in its own charging infrastructure. This is because a sufficient charging network is indispensable in order to be able to supply so many electric vehicles with electricity - without encountering endless waiting times, for example, which would extremely slow down the company's logistical processes. 

Since such charging points should ideally deliver green electricity, Amazon is also having green power plants built, for example a wind farm in the North Sea. The company's long-term goal is not only to fully electrify its fleet, but to operate it with clean energy from renewable sources. 

At least in Europe, where the future ban on new registrations for internal combustion vehicles is accompanied by an increasing number of diesel and petrol driving bans and traffic restrictions around Europe, the plan makes sense. After all, with its electric strategy, Amazon wants to prepare for exactly this and ensure that the company remains marketable - by being able to reach customers almost anywhere in Europe with its vehicles. Including within the numerous environmental zones that strictly regulate traffic and the corresponding emissions in many countries and are becoming stricter every year. 

For Amazon, however, the traffic turnaround does not stop with vans and trucks. The large company not only wants to switch to more sustainable vehicles, but also to dispense with the use of all motorised four-wheelers wherever possible. Parcels in large cities are to be delivered on foot or by cargo bike. For this "last mile" delivery, the online retailer plans to double the number of so-called "micro-hubs" for emission-free delivery by 2050. Such hubs are already in full operation in 20 European cities. Together with the billion-euro investment in electric delivery trucks, Amazon will then reach the zero-emissions mark on its entire delivery processes - and thus maintain its place in a market that will be significantly influenced and constrained by upcoming emissions regulations under the climate targets.