Amazon orders 200 new electric heavy trucks from Daimler for Germany and the UK by Reuters

Written by Nick Carey

(Reuters) – Amazon (NASDAQ:) said on Tuesday it has ordered 200 Mercedes-Benz (OTC:) all-electric eActros 600 heavy goods vehicles from Daimler to serve the German and UK markets in its largest order of electric trucks to date.

The e-commerce giant said the trucks will begin joining its network later this year and will be deployed on “long-haul routes” across Amazon’s mid-mile network between fulfillment centers, sort centers and delivery stations.

“This is a major milestone for us,” Andreas Marschner, Amazon’s vice president of global operations sustainability, told Reuters. “Decarbonizing the heavy goods sector is the most challenging part of transportation.”

The order is part of Amazon’s commitment to reach net-zero carbon emissions across its operations by 2040. Daimler said it is also the largest order for electric trucks to date for the Mercedes-Benz Trucks brand.

Aside from the much higher price tag than diesel truck equivalents, logistics companies have struggled to find electric trucks that have enough range to handle difficult delivery routes and the charging infrastructure to keep them on the road.

The 40-ton eActros 600 has a range of 500 kilometers (311 miles), which Marschner said makes it adaptable to Amazon’s delivery network.

But he added that Amazon is supporting the truck deployment by building a 360-kilowatt fast charging network at its own sites, which can charge a truck from 20% to 80% in less than an hour, “which is also in compliance with legal standards.” The driver continued.”

He said that efforts to strengthen charging infrastructure in the European Union and the United States Kingdom (Tadawul:) Still in its early stages, Amazon is working with fees on companies and regulators to accelerate investments.

“The main transport corridors in the UK and Germany are still very limited by general freight and the high-capacity freight we need for trucks,” Marschner said. “That’s a challenge these days because it reduces the ability to use these assets.”