Home Tech Amazon places ‘largest ever’ electric truck order in UK to reduce carbon emissions

Amazon places ‘largest ever’ electric truck order in UK to reduce carbon emissions

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Amazon places 'largest ever' electric truck order in UK to reduce carbon emissions

Amazon will deploy nearly 150 electric heavy duty vehicles and stack parcels on trains and post-style trolleys in an effort to reduce the carbon footprint of delivering goods in the UK.

The technology company said it had purchased more than 140 electric Mercedes-Benz heavy duty vehicles (HGVs) and eight Volvo trucks (which it claims is the UK’s largest order for electric trucks) that can carry loads of up to 40 tons.

The vehicles will hit the road over the next 18 months, increasing the online retailer’s fleet of electric heavy duty vehicles from nine currently.

The US company’s shift to electric logistics is partly funded by the government under its Zero Emission Heavy Vehicles and Infrastructure Demonstration (ZEHID) programme. Amazon plans to install fast charging points across its UK network to keep trucks in action.

Amazon’s move is part of a £300m investment in green transport for the UK, announced in 2022, when the group hoped to have up to 700 electric heavy vehicles on the roads by 2025, up from just five then. , as well as thousands of smaller vehicles. electric vans.

However, a lack of public infrastructure, high costs and concerns about vehicle range have slowed the shift to electric heavy duty vehicles across the sector, according to the Road Haulage Association, which says only 300 are registered. on UK roads from a total fleet of trucks. of 500,000.

Anna Krajinska, British director of green transport lobby group Transport & Environment, said sales had also been held back by the lack of a binding zero emissions target for heavy vehicles in the UK.

“There is a lack of supply-side regulation in the UK to make it more affordable and without that regulation there is no investment or certainty for the freight industry to roll out infrastructure,” he said.

Nicola Fyfe, European vice president at Amazon Logistics, said its investment in electric vehicles was “a win for our customers, the environment and our business.”

“Decarbonizing our transport network is key to helping us achieve our goal of reaching net zero carbon emissions across all our operations by 2040 and today’s announcement is an important and exciting step forward for us in this mission,” he added.

The move comes as Amazon begins its first large-scale deliveries by train. Containers of products from its warehouses will be loaded onto freight trains on the all-electric West Coast Main Line between Scotland and the Midlands for collection at stations close to local Amazon delivery and fulfillment centers or at ferry ports.

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The plan will allow 20 million products to be transported by train per year. Previously, Amazon only transported a small number of packages by train using carts loaded on passenger trains.

Amazon has also launched new foot deliveries, using heavy carts, in central London, with pilots in Hackney, Westminster and Islington.

The cars can be refueled from vans, helping the company reduce van trips in the capital’s congestion toll zone.

Amazon said more than 70% of the area was now covered by electric vans, electric cargo bikes and foot deliveries, operated by its partners.

The company is expanding electric vehicle deliveries in UK city centres, with recent launches of electric cargo bikes in Belfast and Norwich joining existing Amazon fleets managed by autonomous partners in London, Manchester and Glasgow .

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