Rivian’s R1T electric trucks are becoming increasingly visible across the US, and now Amazon reveals the electric delivery vans it’s buying from Rivian are ready for a nationwide rollout.
Amazon says these new trucks have 360-degree visibility with exterior cameras that link to a large internal display as well as safety features like sensor detection, highway- and traffic-assist technology, adaptive cruise control, collision warnings, and automatic emergency braking. For the drivers inside them, the vans have cooled seats, doors that automatically lock and unlock, and a powered bulkhead door that opens itself when the driver reaches their destination.
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Even if they’re not delivering to your house specifically, you may notice them based on a “unique external sound” output when the quiet electric vehicle is parked or moving slowly.
When then-CEO Jeff Bezos announced a deal with the EV startup in 2019 to buy 100,000 vans, he said they should be on the road by 2024. Now, Amazon projects to hit 100,000 vans on the road by 2030, but they should be on the road soon in cities including Baltimore, Chicago, Dallas, Kansas City, Nashville, Phoenix, San Diego, Seattle, and St. Louis — and reach 100 cities by the end of this year.
Rivian-powered deliveries started in earnest last year with a few of the vans in Los Angeles, but now they’re spreading out. Amazon said delivery tests since last year covered over 90,000 miles and 430,000 packages while Rivian tweaked performance, safety, and driver comfort features.
“Today marks a significant milestone in our Climate Pledge commitment,” said Amazon CEO Andy Jassy. “Rivian was one of the first companies Amazon invested in through the Climate Pledge Fund, and we’re just getting started on our journey to have 100,000 of Rivian’s vehicles on the road by 2030. And, in addition to being sustainable, these new vehicles are also great for drivers—they were designed with driver input and feedback along the way, and they’re among the safest and most comfortable delivery vehicles on the road today.”
Similarly, Rivian CEO RJ Scaringe said, “To say this is an exciting moment is an understatement—we’re thrilled to see this partnership has kickstarted decarbonization projects across the logistics delivery industry.”