Amazon is expanding zero-exhaust emission deliveries with the UK’s largest-ever order of electric trucks as well as the launch of rail deliveries across the UK and on-foot deliveries in central London.
More than 140 new electric Mercedes-Benz Truck eActros 600 trucks and eight Volvo FM Battery Electric trucks are joining Amazon’s transportation network over the next 18 months as part of the UK’s largest-ever electric heavy vehicles (eHGV) order.
Once fully operational, these new eHGVs are expected to transport more than 300 million packages each year with no exhaust emissions. The new electric trucks will haul trailers with products and packages to and from fulfilment centres, sort centres and delivery stations to customer doorsteps.
Around 20 of the Mercedes-Benz trucks will join Amazon’s transportation network following the company’s participation in the UK Government’s Zero Emission HGV and Infrastructure Demonstrator programme (ZEHID), with a proportion funded by the Department for Transport and coordinated in partnership with Innovate UK. Amazon has also added eight Volvo FM Battery Electric trucks as part of the programme.
To support the expanded fleet, Amazon will install additional fast charging infrastructure across key UK sites, including 360kW electric charging points capable of charging the 40-tonne Mercedes-Benz trucks from 20 to 80 per cent in just over an hour. The new electric trucks will have a range of 310 miles (500km) on full charge.
Future of Roads Minister Lilian Greenwood said: “Business has a crucial role to play in decarbonising our roads, and that’s why it’s fantastic to see Amazon place the UK’s biggest ever order of electric trucks, supported in part by the Government’s £200m ‘Zero Emission HGV and Infrastructure Demonstrator’ project. This comes on top of our £2.3 billion to help industry and consumers switch to electric vehicles, supporting jobs, attracting investment and making Britain a clean energy superpower.”
Utilising the UK’s electric rail network for customer deliveries
For the first time in the UK, Amazon has also launched rail deliveries at scale. Products will be loaded onto train carriages on the fully electric West Coast Main Line, which runs between Scotland and the Midlands. The products are picked from stations close to local Amazon delivery and fulfilment centres – ready for sorting and packing ahead of customer deliveries. To further reduce on-road traffic, products are also transported from stations and Amazon’s wider fulfilment network to ferry ports while giving small and medium-sized UK businesses easier access to European markets.
More than 20 million products sold on Amazon are expected to travel on the UK’s electric rail network this year, avoiding traffic congestion and carbon emissions, with plans to expand across further rail routes before the end of the year.
On-foot and electric cargo bike deliveries
Customers in central London can also now receive their orders through on-foot deliveries, brought to doorsteps with the help of carts that can be restocked on-the-go from vans dotted around the capital. Developed in partnership with the London Boroughs of Hackney, Westminster and Islington, these new deliveries will help Amazon make more zero-exhaust emission deliveries than ever before, with fewer motorised van trips. More than 70% of London’s Congestion Charge zone is now covered by electric vans, e-cargo bikes and on-foot deliveries operated by Amazon’s partners.
The company is continually expanding electric deliveries across UK city centres, with recent electric cargo bike launches in Belfast and Norwich joining existing partner fleets in London, Manchester and Glasgow. To date, more than 500,000 Amazon customer delivery routes have changed from traditional fuel vehicles to zero-exhaust emission alternatives.
Since 2022, Amazon has made more than 150 million deliveries using electric vans and cargo bikes in the UK. Delivery drivers have driven more than 19 million miles in electric vans and cycled more than 900,000 miles on electric cargo bikes on routes that would have been otherwise driven by vans with traditional fuel.
These developments will help take traditional diesel vans and trucks off the UK’s roads, reduce carbon emissions, alleviate traffic congestion, and improve air quality, as part of Amazon’s Climate Pledge commitment to achieve net-zero carbon emissions across its operations by 2040.
“Decarbonising our transport network is key in helping us achieve our goal to reach net-zero carbon emissions across our operations by 2040 and today’s announcement is an exciting and major step forward for us in this mission,” said Nicola Fyfe, EU VP of Amazon Logistics.
“The combination of our – and the UK’s – biggest ever order of eHGVs, the UK’s electric rail network now being used to transport customer packages, and the launch of restocking on the move on-foot deliveries, all alongside our partners’ fleet of electric vans and e-cargo bikes, will help us move more customer orders across our fulfilment network with zero exhaust emissions. This is a win for our customers, the environment and our business.”
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