E-commerce giant Amazon is now testing its custom-made Rivian electric vans in San Francisco. It’s now the second city where Amazon is using its Rivian vans, behind Los Angeles.
Amazon plans to launch its Rivian delivery vans in 16 cities in 2021. Its electric vans, built on Rivian’s skateboard platform, can last up to 150 miles on a single charge, so it will be interesting to see how they perform on the city’s steep hills. Amazon’s Rivian vans will feature different motor and battery configurations in order to accommodate different environments, according to Engadget.
The Rivian vans making deliveries in San Francisco will initially run out of a delivery station in Richmond, California, just north of the city. It’s one of many delivery stations that Amazon is reconfiguring to service its electric fleet. Amazon also recently invested $200 million in a new delivery station in the center of San Francisco.
Amazon ordered 100,000 EVs to help meet emissions reduction goals, although it doesn’t expect all of them to enter service until 2030 ‘just’ 10,000 should hit the road by 2022. It’s a start, though, and it makes sense to deploy the vans in an EV-friendly area like the San Francisco Bay. The challenge, of course, is providing truly widespread coverage. Densely packed cities are relatively easy, but the current range could limit Amazon’s ability to serve rural customers.
