Amazon will add Stellantis’ all-electric Ram ProMaster van to its fleet when the vehicle launches in 2023 as the e-commerce giant pushes to meet its pledge to be carbon neutral by 2040.
The companies said Wednesday that Amazon would be the first commercial customer of the upcoming all-electric van as part of a broader partnership announcement focused on software development and in-vehicle technology at the 2022 CES tech trade show.
Stellantis, the global automaker that includes the Ram brand, revealed in August 2021 that “due to customer demand” it would offer an electric Ram ProMaster van beginning in 2023. The electric van is part of the automaker’s $35.5 billion investment electric vehicles and new software over the next four years in an effort to shift away from internal combustion engines.
The automaker didn’t share many details in its August announcement beyond the launch date. The customer announcement Wednesday provides one or two more bits of information, although it’s still scant and doesn’t include how many Ram Promaster vans will be ordered. The companies did say that the electric van was apparently designed with input from Amazon to include “unique last mile delivery features.” Neither company explained what those features are.
The vast majority of Amazon’s branded delivery fleet in the U.S. — which at last count stood at more than 70,000 — have internal combustion engines. Stellantis is one of its primary suppliers, with tens of thousands of light commercial vehicles making their way into Amazon since 2018. The light commercial vehicles, used for Amazon’s last mile operations in North America and Europe, includes Ram ProMaster, Fiat Ducato, and Peugeot and Citroën vehicles.
Amazon pledged in 2019 that it would become carbon-neutral by 2040 — 10 years earlier than is outlined by the United Nations Paris Agreement. To help hit that target, Amazon ordered 100,000 electric delivery trucks from electric startup-turned publicly traded company Rivian.
The 100,000 van order still stands, according to Amazon, which also has about a 20% stake in Rivian.
“We always knew that our ambitious sustainability goals in our last mile operations would require multiple electric delivery van providers,” Amazon said in an emailed statement. “We continue to be excited about our relationship with Rivian, and this doesn’t change anything about our investment, collaboration, or order size and timing.”
Rivian is under contract to produce 100,000 electric vehicle delivery vans for Amazon through 2024. Rivian has said that it planned to deliver the first 10 of Amazon’s order by the end of 2021.
