Amazon’s Rivian electric delivery vans hit the streets of Colorado

Denver, Colorado is now the third major city, after Los Angeles and San Francisco, to see Amazon packages being delivered by Rivian electric vans. The largest online retailer has been using Rivian electric vans for delivery services across three cities in the United States, with additional plans to expand its service reach.

Los Angeles was the first city to witness actual Amazon deliveries by electric vans. Further, in March, San Francisco joined the rising list of cities where the vans will be operating.

Sources with knowledge of the matter stated that Rivian had signed on to manufacture 10000 electric vans for Amazon, following a partnership worth over USD 700 million. California soon caught sight of the prototype vans after the development. The logistics behemoth intends to significantly decrease carbon footprint by the time it completely transitions to EVs.

The cities picked for the Rivian delivery vans so far appear to be very strategic. For one, Colorado's environment and topography will serve as a solid testing ground for the vehicles as a complete rollout is in plans.

The vehicles must be able to withstand the elements in both hot and cold climates across the country. These are factors considered in the design of these vans for them to be viable as a business model.

Sources cited that by 2022, over 10,000 Rivian vans are likely to be operational in Amazon's US fleet. These vans would probably stride across the highways of various other towns soon. Early experiments in densely populated areas such as Los Angeles seem to have been successful.

Rivian's reputation as a budding electric vehicle maker has improved, and it is also gaining popularity in Colorado. The Rivan Adventure Network is a company-led project that will see two charging stations planned for installation in each of Colorado's 42 parks. The first of these chargers would go live in July, sources confirmed.

Source Credit- https://www.gizmochina.com/2021/05/04/amazons-rivian-electric-delivery-vans-now-making-deliveries-in-colorado/