Sustainable Transportation

Electrifying Our Transport Fleets

In 2019, Amazon ordered 100,000 electric delivery vehicles from Rivian, a U.S. electric vehicle manufacturer. This order, the largest order ever of electric delivery vehicles, sends a signal to the marketplace to start inventing and developing new technologies that large, global companies need to transition to a low-carbon economy. We plan to start using these new vehicles from Rivian to deliver packages to customers by 2021, with 10,000 new vehicles on the road as early as 2022 and all 100,000 vehicles on the road by 2030. This is projected to save millions of metric tons of carbon per year by 2030.

Amazon already operates hundreds of electric vehicles across the globe. Amazon India is adding 10,000 electric delivery vehicles to its existing fleet by 2025, including 3-wheeler and 4-wheeler vehicles designed and manufactured in India. These vehicles are in addition to Amazon’s order of 100,000 electric delivery vehicles from Rivian.

Across Europe, Amazon is contracting with our service providers to launch a low-pollution last-mile fleet comprised of electric and natural gas vans and cars. We have added hundreds of electric vehicle charging stations at our European facilities for our partners to use, with plans to expand this infrastructure to support more sustainable deliveries. We use electric cargo bikes in cities around the world, including a pilot in New York City in 2019. In North America, Amazon has also deployed electric yard hostlers, which are used to move trailers around facilities.

Inventing Amazon’s electric delivery vehicle

Electric Delivery Vehicles

In 2019, Amazon ordered 100,000 electric delivery vehicles from Rivian, a U.S. electric vehicle manufacturer. Amazon plans to start using these new vehicles to deliver packages by 2021, with 10,000 new vehicles on the road as early as 2022 and all 100,000 vehicles on the road by 2030.

Learn More

Efficiency Enhancements and Alternative Delivery Methods

Maximizing Efficiency on Current Vehicles Optimizing Our Delivery Logistics Using Alternative Delivery Methods

Maximizing Efficiency on Current Vehicles

While we work to adopt the most efficient, cutting-edge vehicle technologies, we are also maximizing efficiencies on our existing fleets. Across North America and Europe, our fleet includes a mix of trailers in different sizes that are equipped with skirts (panels attached to the lower side edges of a trailer to make it more aerodynamic) and automatic tire inflation systems that keep tires properly inflated and maximize fuel efficiency. We use mud flaps designed to allow airflow and water to pass through them, minimizing drag and saving an average of 100 gallons of diesel fuel per vehicle annually. In Europe, we have deployed over 500 hydraulically powered double-deck trailers. Double-deck trailers improve space utilization by up to 70% in comparison to standard semi-trailers, reducing the total number of trucks on the road.

An Amazon driver delivers boxes of medical supplies.

Optimizing Our Delivery Logistics

Amazon is constantly working to optimize our delivery network and drive efficiencies in the process of delivering our products. To fulfill customer orders quickly, we have thousands of vehicles moving from fulfillment centers to delivery destinations. We use data and algorithms to consolidate as many shipments as possible onto one vehicle or plane. We also analyze which items are being ordered most frequently, by location, to ensure that the inventory of those items is stored nearby, minimizing the need to use planes or trucks for long-distance deliveries. By boosting efficiencies across our network, we are able to put fewer vehicles and planes into service.

Using Alternative Delivery Methods

We are continually piloting new or alternative ideas in different locations around the world in an effort to increase our efficiency and reduce emissions. In urban centers like New York City, we deliver packages on foot, have expanded our use of traditional bicycles, and use pedal-assist electric bikes connected to cargo trailers that can carry up to 45 packages. In India, our fleet includes electric three-wheelers and compressed natural gas (CNG) vehicles. Electric bikes and CNG vehicles are also part of our delivery fleet in Europe. Additionally, we’re developing fully electric autonomous delivery services, such as the Amazon Scout device and Prime Air drones, which will make deliveries faster and more efficient than road deliveries.

A woman reaches into Scout to retrieve an Amazon box.

Partnering with Experts and Industry

In 2017, Amazon signed the Sustainable Fuel Buyers' Principles, demonstrating our commitment to working with service providers to accelerate the transition to low-carbon commercial transportation solutions. Members of the nonprofit Business for Social Responsibility (BSR) Future of Fuels group developed The Buyers’ Principles and vetted them through its network of 600 expert and industry stakeholders. These principles outline criteria that will catalyze the partnerships needed to drive the transition to a sustainable road freight transportation system.