New attempt! Amazon begins testing Rivian electric delivery vehicles in San Francisco

Amazon announced last month that it had begun testing electric delivery vans in Los Angeles and plans to expand to more than 14 cities this year . San Francisco is the second city after Los Angeles to test electric delivery vans.

The Rivian electric delivery van is a custom electric vehicle developed by Amazon in partnership with startup Rivian Automotive , a powerhouse that has raised about $8 billion from investors since 2019.

Amazon chose San Francisco as one of the first cities to test Rivian's electric vans due to its terrain and climate as well as its strong customer base . It is reported that deliveries will initially be made at an Amazon delivery station in Richmond, a suburb of San Francisco, but Amazon is expected to start shipping from other Bay Area sites soon.

“We’re incredibly proud of this being one of the fastest modern commercial electrification programs we’ve seen, and we ’re excited for Bay Area customers to see these vehicles cruising their communities as we continue to grow and invest in California,” Amazon’s director of global fleet and products, Ross Luckey , said in a statement.

In order to switch to electric vehicles, Amazon has redesigned its delivery stations and added thousands of electric vehicle chargers. Amazon said it has operated thousands of electric vehicles around the world since 2019. In 2020, Amazon used electric delivery vehicles to deliver more than 20 million packages in North America and Europe . Currently, these vehicles are driven by specially trained Amazon employees.

The announcement follows an electric delivery van that Amazon introduced last fall. They feature a more compact design, familiar Prime branding and upgraded safety features like advanced driver assistance systems and exterior cameras that give drivers a 360-degree view outside the vehicle.

Amazon is still perfecting the design of its electric delivery van before it goes into production , while Rivian plans to produce the van in the fourth quarter of this year.

In the long run, the use of electric delivery vehicles can not only reduce operating costs, but also have less impact on the environment. Electric delivery vehicles are also favored by enterprises. We hope to see the positive impact of electric delivery vehicles on the environment and enterprises. We also hope that with the help of electric delivery vehicles, we can improve delivery efficiency and optimize the consumer experience.

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