Amazon has placed the UK’s largest order of electric trucks and will provide UK rail deliveries “at scale”.
Digital retail giant Amazon announced today that it has placed an order for over 140 electric Mercedes-Benz trucks and eight Volvo FM Battery Electric trucks – the UK’s largest-ever electric HGV [heavy goods vehicle] order.
Around 20 of the Mercedes-Benz trucks have been funded by the Department for Transport and coordinated in partnership with Innovate UK following Amazon’s participation in the UK Government’s Zero Emission HGV and Infrastructure Demonstrator programme (ZEHID).
The vehicles will join its transportation network over the next 18 months, and once fully operational are expected to transport more than 300m packages each year with no exhaust emissions.
Amazon is also set to install additional fast charging infrastructure across the UK, including 360kW electric charging points capable of charging the 40-tonne Mercedes-Benz trucks from 20% to 80% in just over an hour.
At full charge, the trucks will have a range of 310 miles (500km).
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.”
Additionally, Amazon has promised rail deliveries “at scale”.
It told customers that products will be shipped on train carriages on the UK’s fully electric West Coast Main Line, which runs between Scotland and the Midlands.
Products are then picked up from stations close to local Amazon delivery and fulfilment centres.
To further reduce on-road traffic and give SME UK businesses “easier access to European markets”, products are also transported from stations to ferry ports.
The Scottish Coatbridge rail terminal was acquired last April by transport and logistics provider for the UK and Europe, Russel Group, allowing it to trade under Russell RailRoad Limited.
Russell’s rail-linked sites include Daventry – Edinburgh – Glasgow – Coatbridge – Inverness -Aberdeen, so it is likely that Amazon will have agreed a minimum quantity commitment with the group to serve Scottish customers.
Amazon said it expects upwards of 20m of its products to travel on the UK’s electric rail network this year, “avoiding traffic congestion and carbon emissions”.
The ecommerce giant also teased plans to expand across further rail routes “before the end of the year”.
