Online retailer Amazon has delivered one of the UK’s largest orders of electric heavy-goods vehicles (eHGVs).
Once fully deployed, the firm will have 160 eHGVs, the largest number of electric trucks in Amazon’s global transportation network.
The trucks, transporting products between Amazon logistics hubs across the UK, will travel the annual equivalent of more than 450 trips around the Earth on UK roads once fully operational, carrying more than 300 million products.
The 40-tonne electric trucks, operated by Amazon’s carrier partners, are part of a large order of new electric Mercedes-Benz Truck eActros 600s made earlier this year, with a small number part-funded through Amazon’s participation in the UK Government’s Zero Emission HGV and Infrastructure Demonstrator programme (ZEHID), coordinated in partnership with Innovate UK.
With a range of more than 310 miles when fully charged, the Mercedes-Benz trucks can transport up to a 22 metric tonne load per journey between Amazon’s fulfilment centres, sort centres and delivery stations.
To support this electric fleet, Amazon has installed fast charging points at its UK sites, with 360kW chargers that can charge the 40-tonne Mercedes-Benz trucks from 20 to 80 per cent battery capacity in just over an hour.
In addition to the eHGVs, Amazon is also adding 800 electric vans to its fleet, and extending pedestrian deliveries to the London Borough of Camden.
More than 800 new Mercedes-Benz eSprinter vans arriving in the coming months will also be deployed for Amazon deliveries. These vans feature improved safety elements, ergonomic designs for drivers, and practical delivery enhancements including custom shelving and sliding bulkhead doors for more efficient package handling.
The on-foot delivery services aim to reduce traffic congestion and improve air quality. Building on successful pilots in Hackney, Westminster and Islington, Amazon has now also launched operations in Camden, with strategically parked vans acting as mobile distribution points. Teams of delivery associates collect packages from these hubs, to deliver on-foot through nearby neighbourhoods.
Nicola Fyfe, EU VP of Amazon Logistics, said:
“The first vehicles from our record-breaking eHGV order are now on Britain’s roads, transporting products between our hubs. This marks a major milestone in our journey to decarbonise our UK transportation network.
“These trucks, alongside more electric vans and on-foot deliveries, are a win for our customers, the environment, and our business. The challenge to scaling this approach across the logistics industry, however, is charging infrastructure. We’ve invested in our own facilities but need continued industry and government collaboration to develop the national network required for widespread electric vehicle adoption.”
Heiko Selzam, Managing Director of Daimler Truck UK Limited, said:
“The eActros 600 was designed for forward-thinking companies like Amazon – businesses taking real action to make logistics more sustainable.
“Seeing these trucks now on the road, delivering to Amazon customers, marks an exciting step toward the decarbonisation of road freight and the future of long-haul transport.”
Councillor Adam Harrison, Cabinet Member for Planning and a Sustainable Camden, said:
“One of our commitments in the Freight and Servicing Action Plan was to reduce van emissions from deliveries and servicing trips.
“To that end, we are partnering with Amazon to support a trial of walking deliveries from a private industrial site in Camden. We hope that this trial will help reduce van miles and improve local air quality. We will monitor the impacts closely and use the findings to shape future freight policy.”
Image from Amazon
