Written by Cláudio Afonso | LinkedIn | X
Amazon started testing deliveries with Rivian preproduction delivery vans in 2021. The California-based EV maker delivered the first final units in 2022, and Amazon now counts over 20,000 units in its fleet.
As part of its ‘The Climate Pledge’ program, Amazon announced in 2019 a partnership with Rivian to deploy 100,000 electric delivery vehicles by 2030.
Rivian announced on Wednesday it is opening orders for the fully electric commercial van to other customers, with prices starting at $79,990.
The entry-level variant, called the 500 Series, will feature a 100 kWh LFP battery, offering 161 miles of EPA range. Deliveries in the U.S. are scheduled to begin in April.
Late last year, Reuters reported that Amazon plans to deploy 1,000 electric delivery vans from Rivian, equipped with vision-assisted package retrieval “early this year.” The company will start utilizing interior lights in trucks to guide drivers to the correct packages.
In August 2024, Rivian halted production of the model due to a parts shortage after a miscalculation with Essex Furukawa, one of its suppliers.
The company has recently stated that “the previously discussed shortage of a shared component on the R1 and RCV platforms is no longer a constraint” on its production.
U.S. sales of the electric vehicle maker Rivian have fallen 39% year over year to 3,060 units in January, according to Motor Intelligence estimates released on Monday.
The Irvine-based EV manufacturer, which currently sells its vehicles in the U.S. and Canada, plans to expand to Europe in 2025 with its upcoming R2 model. In January 2024, the company sold 5,027 vehicles in the U.S.
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