The vehicles, manufactured by Volvo Trucks, will be the first fully-electric HGVs to be part of Amazon’s German fleet. In its 2019 Climate Pledge, the company committed to reaching net zero carbon emissions in its distribution by 2040.

Amazon has invested in the necessary infrastructure to support these electric trucks, installing ten 360kW electric charging points across its sites in Germany. These are capable of charging a Volvo eHGV in under two hours.

Heavy duty vehicles are responsible for approximately a quarter of the EU’s carbon dioxide emissions. Of these heavy duty vehicles, trucks produce 85% of emissions.

In order to meet European regulations, fleets of HGVs in the EU must produce 15% less CO2 by 2025 and 30% less by 2030, compared with emissions data from 2019-2020.

Andreas Marschner, Vice President of Amazon Transportation Services Europe, is aware of the pressure to reduce greenhouse gas emissions when it comes to road freight transport saying: “Amazon is committed to decarbonising its fleet, and the middle mile is a notoriously hard-to-abate sector. That’s why welcoming these electric heavy goods vehicles to our fleet is such a critical milestone”.