Amazon orders 1800 EVs from Mercedes-Benz in green effort

IANS Image.

IANS Image.

Seattle, August 29 (IANS): In its bid to address the climate change, Amazon has added more than 1,800 electric vehicles from Mercedes-Benz Vans to its delivery fleet in Europe this year.

Mercedes-Benz also announced on Friday it has joined The Climate Pledge, which calls on new signatories to be net zero carbon across their businesses by 2040 — a decade ahead of the Paris Agreement goal of 2050.

"We welcome the bold leadership demonstrated by Mercedes-Benz by signing up to The Climate Pledge and committing to ambitious action to address climate change," said Jeff Bezos, Amazon Founder and CEO.

More than 1,200 EVs in the order will have newest electric commercial van available at Mercedes-Benz — the eSprinter, a larger model than the manufacturer's first zero-emission vehicle, the eVito.

The eSprinter includes safety features including, electrical parking brake, active brake, reverse camera, blind spot assist, and more. The remaining 600 vehicles will be eVito.

"Amazon is adding 1,800 electric delivery vehicles from Mercedes-Benz as part of our journey to build the most sustainable transportation fleet in the world, and we will be moving fast to get these vans on the road this year," he added.

As part of Mercedes-Benz's commitment as the latest signatory of The Climate Pledge, the company is doubling down on its commitment to ‘Ambition2039,' a roadmap to CO2-neutral mobility.

By joining 'The Climate Pledge' we are building on our goal to consistently pursue emission-free mobility and sustainable vehicle production," said Ola Kallenius, chairman of the Board of Management of Daimler AG and Mercedes-Benz AG.

The company is evaluating ways to remove carbon from its entire value chain, from development to the supplier network, from its own production to the electrification of products and beyond, as well as to ensuring renewable energies for the use phase of electric vehicles.

With its goal to have a CO2-neutral fleet of new cars in less than 20 years, Mercedes-Benz said it "is making an important contribution to slowing climate change".

By the end of this year, the vehicle portfolio will comprise five fully electric models and more than 20 plug-in hybrids.

As part of The Climate Pledge, Amazon is investing in renewable energy as a critical step toward addressing our carbon footprint globally and have pledged to run on 100 per cent renewable energy by 2025.