You've probably seen those cute blue, circular-eyed Amazon electric delivery trucks in your neighborhood. Now you will pass big electric Amazon trucks on the road.
The world's dominant online retailer is deploying 50 all-electric large rigs in Southern California, eight of them in the ports of Long Beach and Los Angeles. Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass and White House National Climate Advisor Ali Zaidi are scheduled to announce the Amazon news at the Port of Los Angeles on Tuesday afternoon.
Aggressive and impactful reporting on climate change, the environment, health and science.
California has established mandates to get rid of diesel trucks and replace them with low-carbon technologies in increasing numbers until 2035, when the sale of new diesel trucks will be banned. The goal: get rid of greenhouse gases and other pollutants.
The state has already banned new diesel trucks from California seaports, although diesel trucks purchased through 2023 will be allowed in for years under certain conditions.
The batteries in the large tractors, made by Volvo, can travel up to 270 miles before recharging, “with zero tailpipe emissions,” Amazon said. The trucks will transport containers from the ports to the Amazon cargo center in Sante Fe Springs, where the containers will be unloaded and the goods will be sent to distribution centers and airports, and finally to delivery stations, where the vans will load packages for homes and businesses. .
The company will not say how much it will pay for the trucks. The total price currently ranges between $300,000 and $500,000, compared to $120,000 for a diesel truck. But California and the federal government offer big subsidies to buyers of low-carbon trucks, and Amazon is able to buy in bulk and get a discount.
Amazon isn't the only company moving toward large, low-carbon platforms. Given state mandates, there's been a lot of electric truck action in and around ports lately. Just one example: Shipping giant Maersk is using BYD-branded electric trucks in ports, charging at a newly opened station in Lynwood, equipped with 65 chargers provided by Palo Alto-based Voltera.
