There are plenty of companies with an immense fleet of vehicles, but Amazon’s fleet will soon be very special. The company has its American vans designed from scratch by Rivian. The Amazon bus is now easier to see.
If there is a budget to have your own electric van designed from the ground up, you know that things are going well. As early as 2019, it was announced that Amazon will order at least 100,000 vans from Rivian for the delivery of its own goods in the US. Rivian is a start-up that has so far mainly engaged in the development of an electric pick-up under its own name, but a different path was followed for Amazon.
The result is simply described by the e-commerce giant as ‘Amazon custom electric delivery vehicle’. There is therefore no type name (yet), but it becomes clear that the car was developed by Rivian exclusively for Amazon. The name ‘Rivian’ is in fact nowhere to be seen on the vehicle. Instead, Amazon logos can be found everywhere, right down to the driver’s seat headrest.
Sliding door
The bus leans comfortably over its relatively small wheels and has a gigantic windscreen. The sleek, modern nose is futuristic and retro at the same time, in a way that can also be found on the similarly styled Honda E. In terms of size and layout, the Amazon bus is a bit like the ‘Package cars’ that UPS has also used in Europe. This means that the bus has a remarkably high roof and large sliding doors. These offer the user a great advantage, because thanks to the sliding door, it is not necessary to close the door after each package. That saves one action per delivery, which saves a lot of time on a long day of driving around.
Camera arsenal
The rear is characterized by a large string of light that runs along the rounded top of the bus. The whole is reminiscent of the rear light of the Honda Stream and offers space for a large roll-up door, which provides ample access to the cargo hold. This space is optimally utilized thanks to shelves along the wall and is of course also accessible from the driver’s cabin. The driver faces an Amazon steering wheel and a dashboard with two large screens. These screens show, among other things, the image of a whole arsenal of parking cameras, which should make maneuvering considerably easier. To make the Amazon delivery person’s life even easier, Amazon’s own digital Alexa assistant is also on board.
Range
What the powertrain of this special bus looks like is unfortunately not yet known. We probably don’t have to worry about it either, because Rivian likes to throw impressive numbers. For example, the brand’s planned pick-ups and SUVs will receive at least a 105 kWh battery pack, which should allow a range of several hundred kilometers even with a large van.
Europe
The collaboration between Amazon and Rivian does not stop here, as there are two more unique electric vehicles in the barrel. Amazon is fully committed to electric transport and also wants to drive more and more electric vehicles in Europe. Whether that will also be interesting ‘custom’ copies is still the question. Here, Amazon seems to see more of a partnership with Mercedes, where a range of electric Sprinters have already been ordered recently. A whole path has been mapped out for the Rivian buses. In 2022, 10,000 must already be on the road, ten years later there will be 100,000.