PLYMOUTH TOWNSHIP, Mich. – Amazon founder and CEO Jeff Bezos announced Thursday the company placed an order for 100,000 electric delivery vans from Plymouth-based automotive technology company Rivian.
Rivian has two electric vehicles scheduled for release in 2021, a pickup truck, the R1T, and an SUV, the R1S. The electric delivery van is a new, previously unannounced, vehicle for the company.
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The announcement follows Wednesday's news that Amazon expressed a desire to build a delivery station where the Pontiac Silverdome stood before its 2018 demolition, and a $350 million investment into Rivian from Cox Automotive in early September, a $500 million investment from Ford Motor Company in April and a $700 million investment from Amazon in February.
The Pontiac Planning Commission approved a permit Wednesday night for redevelopment of the property.
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In April, Ford announced it will use Rivian's technology to build an electric vehicle.
Bezos' said prototypes of Rivian's van could hit the road this year. The company said the fleet could save about 4 million metric tons of C02 from being released into the atmosphere each year.
The vehicles are a part of Amazon's plan to meet the Paris Agreement 10 years early with The Climate Pledge. Bezos said Amazon is working to implement decarbonization strategies to achieve net zero annual carbon emissions by 2040.
“We’re done being in the middle of the herd on this issue -- we’ve decided to use our size and scale to make a difference,” Bezos said. “If a company with as much physical infrastructure as Amazon -- which delivers more than 10 billion items a year -- can meet the Paris Agreement 10 years early, then any company can."
It is the largest order of electric delivery vehicles.
Amazon is aiming to reach 80 percent renewable energy by 2024 and 100 percent by 2030 ahead of its 2040 goal of becoming carbon neutral.
"Large companies signing The Climate Pledge will send an important signal to the market that it’s time to invest in the products and services the signatories will need to meet their commitments," Bezos said.
Rivian is based in Burroughs, a historic Albert Kahn building in Plymouth, and has research, development and manufacturing facilities in California, Illinois and the United Kingdom.