BUSINESS

Everything We Know About Amazon’s New Heavy-Duty Electric Trucks

May 9, 2024

Volvo Trucks is working with Amazon to electrify its massive delivery fleet.
The deal will bring “nearly” 50 new Class 8 VNR electric freight trucks to Southern California roads this year.
The heavy-duty EVs boast a 275-mile maximum range and can charge up to 80% capacity in 90 minutes, Volvo Trucks said.

Amazon is betting on Volvo Trucks as it attempts to make headway in decarbonizing and electrifying its global delivery fleet.

By the end of the year, Amazon said that it plans to have “nearly” 50 heavy-duty Volvo electric freight trucks operating across Southern California. The EVs will haul goods from the ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach to the retail giant’s fulfillment and delivery centers. In a statement to press on Tuesday, Amazon characterized the deal as “an important step towards” its 2040 climate goal.

Amazon’s new Class 8 VNR electric freight trucks come from Swedish-owned truck maker Volvo Trucks North America — not to be confused with the mid-century Volvo Amazon nor the latest evolution of Volvo Cars, which Chinese automaker Geely acquired from Ford in 2010.

These Class 8 trucks boast a maximum range of 275 miles, and the vehicles take 90 minutes to charge up to 80% capacity, the truck maker’s website says. Amazon invested in more than 45 new DC fast chargers across 11 sites near the ports, according to Axios.

Electrify News has asked an Amazon spokesperson whether these trucks will replace or just augment its Southern California fleet. We’ll update this story when we hear back.

The stakes are high for the busy Los Angeles and Long Beach ports and the people who call the surrounding area home. Flanked by diesel-burning rail yards, ships, and trucks, communities of color disproportionately suffer from the ports’ air, climate and noise pollution.

Amazon has a lot of ground to cover as far as electrifying its fleet goes. The company invested heavily in electric SUV, van, and truck maker Rivian to help clean up its last-mile fleet, which brings packages directly to shoppers’ doorsteps. The two companies originally signed an exclusivity agreement, granting Amazon first dibs on Rivian’s vans until the automaker delivered 100,000 vehicles. However, the companies said in November that their partnership was no longer exclusive. The news came just a month after Amazon said it had 10,000 Rivian vans actively delivering goods as part of its larger fleet.

Globally, Amazon has a lot of ground to cover as far as its electrification efforts go. The company’s owned and leased fleet reportedly spans many tens of thousands of semi-trucks and vans, per a 2021 CNBC story. It also includes about a hundred planes, per a 2022 Wired report. The retailer doesn’t regularly share updates on the exact size of its fleet.

Still. Amazon’s carbon emissions have risen significantly since the company first announced its climate pledge. Between 2019 and 2022, Amazon’s carbon dioxide-equivalent emissions rose roughly 39% to 71.27 million metric tons, as The Verge notes. That’s roughly equivalent to the amount of carbon pollution produced by running more than 15 million combustion-engine cars over the course of a year, per an emissions calculator made by the EPA.

In 2022, Reveal reported that Amazon “vastly undercounts its carbon footprint” by limiting its tally to sales of Amazon-branded products.