Amazon orders more than 200 electric Mercedes-Benz trucks

In addition to purchasing new long-haul electric trucks, Amazon will also install 360 kW chargers “at key sites, capable of charging the battery of the 40-tonne trucks from 20 to 80 per cent in just over an hour.” It does not mention where these key sites are or how many chargers will be installed. Even more importantly, Amazon states in its press release that it “will work with stakeholders to support the installation of external charging points in suitable locations to enable longer journeys.” However, the company does not provide any details here either.

The order for the 200 eActros 600s is Amazon’s largest single order for electric trucks to date. According to the company, once all newly ordered electric trucks hit the road later this year, they will transport more than 350 million packages per year to and from Amazon’s fulfilment centres, sort centres and delivery stations. 

Majority of trucks headed to the UK

In a separate press release, the company specifies that 140 of these vehicles will join its UK fleet – along with eight newly ordered Volvo FM Battery Electric trucks – in the coming 18 months. That leaves 60 electric Mercedes-Benz Trucks for Germany.

Amazon states that around 20 of the eActros 600s, as well as the above-mentioned Volvo FM Battery Electric trucks, are partly funded by the UK’s Department for Transport and coordinated in partnership with Innovate UK. This comes after Amazon participated in the UK Government’s Zero Emission HGV and Infrastructure Demonstrator programme (ZEHID).

“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.”

Amazon steps up electric deliveries in Germany

As mentioned above, of the 200 electric trucks now ordered from Daimler Truck, 60 units should hit the road in Germany. Interestingly enough, Daimler does not state that figure in its press release but states that “more than 50” of its all-electric trucks will be deployed in the country.

On top of announcing the new truck order, Amazon also gives an update on the number of electric transporters from Rivian on the road in Germany. There are “more than 600” now, the company states. The e-commerce giant announced in 2023 that it would bring 300 of these to Germany and has since not provided a new status. Even when it recently announced that it now has more than 20,000 Rivian EDVs (Electric Delivery Vans) in its US delivery fleet.

Amazon and Rivian struck a deal in 2019, according to which Rivian will deliver 100,000 units of its electric delivery van to Amazon. The first units were handed over in the US in 2022. All of them are to hit the road by the end of the decade.

But back to Amazon’s order with Daimler Truck: The major order that has now been placed was preceded by the practical testing of a near-series prototype of the eActros 600 in one of Amazon’s logistics centres in Germany. Both parties had already agreed on this test run in 2022, and the trial phase also resulted in an order from other logistics companies, such as Contargo and other German customers. As of December, Mercedes-Benz Trucks had around 2,000 firm orders in its order books and a four-digit number of declarations of intent to purchase. 50 units are said to have been handed over last year after the start of production in November.

The eActros 600 is the third battery-electric truck series to be produced in series at Daimler Truck in Wörth, Germany. Series production of the eActros 300/400 for distribution transport started there in 2021, followed by the similar eEconic for municipal use in 2022. But it was only for the production of the new electrically powered long-distance lorry that the manufacturer intervened on a large scale in its line production, as electrive was able to see during a factory tour. That is because the eActros 600 is built flexibly on an assembly line with combustion engines, making it the first electric truck from Wörth to be completely assembled in a production hall. The two smaller electric series with up to 27 tonnes will continue to be brought to another hall for the installation of the electric components.

Briefly about the 600 itself: The vehicle celebrated its world premiere in October 2023 and owes its name to its battery capacity of over 600 kilowatt hours. The XXL Stromer also houses a new electric drive axle developed in-house with 400 kW continuous and up to 600 kW peak power and a so-called front box, which bundles control units, high-voltage components and the electric air compressor in the former engine compartment. The range of the electric beacon of hope: 500 kilometres. The eActros 600 can be charged via CCS with up to 400 kW, and the electric truck will also be capable of megawatt charging as soon as the MCS standard has been finalised.

“We are very pleased that Amazon, a pioneer in the transformation towards alternative drives, has chosen the eActros 600, a gamechanger for sustainable transportation,” concludes Karin Rådström, Chairwoman of the Board of Management of Daimler Truck.

As far as further ambitions are concerned, Amazon wants to “invest over 1 billion euros into the electrification and decarbonisation of its transport network across Europe in the coming years, including more than 400 million euros in Germany.” The number of electric trucks in Europe is set to increase from the current 38 to over 1,500 units, including more than 500 in Germany. The company has not specified a target date. In terms of vans, Amazon aims to build a fleet of 10,000 electric delivery vans in Europe – also without a specific time horizon.

Source: Infos per mail, daimlertruck.com, aboutamazon.eu (eActros 600), aboutamazon.co.uk (UK)