following a successful pilot program in several cities across india, amazon india has announced that by 2025, its delivery fleet will include 10,000 electric rickshaws. the initiative is part of the company’s commitment to the climate pledge and amazon’s aim to reduce carbon emissions the environmental impact of its delivery operations. the news comes after amazon made a global commitment of 100,000 electric vehicles in its delivery fleet by 2030.

images courtesy of amazon

the fleet will include 3-wheeler and 4-wheeler vehicles which have been designed and manufactured in india. starting in 2020, initially, these vehicles will operate in over 20 cities that include delhi NCR, bangalore, hyderabad, ahmedabad, pune, nagpur and coimbatore to name a few, and this number will continue to grow across further cities until their goal of 10,000 EVs is reached.

‘amazon india has been working with several indian oems to build a fleet of vehicles that ensure sustainable and safe deliveries of customer orders,’ reads a statement published on amazon india’s blog. ‘significant progress in the indian e-mobility industry in the last few years has led to advanced technology, and superior motor and battery components.’

‘in addition, the government’s focus to encourage the adoption of electric vehicles in the country, and steps towards setting up of charging infrastructure with the fame 2 policy has helped the company accelerate and chart its vision for EVs in india.’

‘the expansion of our electric vehicle fleet to 10,000 vehicles by 2025 is an integral milestone in our journey to become an energy efficient leader in the industry’, says akhil saxena, vice president, customer fulfillment – apac & emerging markets, amazon. ‘we will continue to invest in the electrification of our delivery fleet, thereby reducing our dependence on non-renewable resources.’

Hey, India. We’re rolling out our new fleet of electric delivery rickshaws. Fully electric. Zero carbon. #ClimatePledge pic.twitter.com/qFXdZOsY4y — Jeff Bezos (@JeffBezos) January 20, 2020

in september 2019, amazon india announced its plan to eliminate single-use plastic in its packaging from amazon india’s fulfilment centers by june 2020, among other initiatives to reduce packaging waste. amazon india has also invested in energy conservation and solar power generation in its fulfilment centers and sort centers, with advanced building energy management systems, and water conservation methods to make operations more sustainable.

also in september 2019, amazon became the first signatory of the climate pledge, which states that the company will be net-zero carbon by 2040 across its businesses – a decade ahead of the paris accord’s goal of 2050. by joining the climate pledge and agreeing to decarbonize on a faster time horizon, signatories will play a critical role in stimulating investment in the development of low carbon products and services that will be required to help companies meet the pledge.

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company: amazon / amazon india