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Rivian EV Delivery Fleet Tested by Amazon in Los Angeles
Amazon has started to test a fleet of Rivian electric-powered vans in Los Angeles, about a year after the company bought 100,000 of the custom delivery vehicles.
The vans have started making deliveries in various parts of Los Angeles, and the Seattle tech and online retail giant says customers will start seeing the vehicles in up to 15 additional cities in 2021. Amazon plans to have tens of thousands of such vehicles on the road over the next few years.
"We're loving the enthusiasm from customers so far - from the photos we see online to the car fans who stop our drivers for a first-hand look at the vehicle," said Ross Rachey, director of Amazon's Global Fleet and Products, in a blog post on the company website.
"From what we've seen, this is one of the fastest modern commercial electrification programs."
Amazon partnered with privately held Rivian to develop its new vehicle fleet. The two companies began testing the vehicles four months before this month's tests began.
The current fleet of vehicles can drive up to 150 miles on a single charge and were built at Rivian's studio in Plymouth, Mich.
Amazon has committed to achieving net-zero carbon across its operations by 2040, which would put it on pace to beat the benchmarks made by the international Paris agreement by a decade.
Amazon already operates thousands of electric vehicles worldwide and is in the process of redesigning its delivery stations to be able to service the vehicles.
The companies are refining the vehicles for the start of mass production, which is slated for the end of 2021.
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This article was originally published by TheStreet.