Amazon Expands EV Plans…with Rickshaws in India

In September 2019, Amazon agreed to buy 100,000 electric vans from Plymouth, Mich.-based startup Rivian Automotive. At the time, the companies hailed the deal as the largest-ever order for electric delivery vehicles.

Amazon is following up the Rivian contract with a pledge smaller in scope and vehicle size from its operations in India. The delivery giant says it will deploy 10,000 rickshaw-type EVs in India by 2025.

Deployment Starting Soon

The fleet will include a mix of tiny 3- and 4-wheel models that will be designed and produced in India. Amazon says it is working with several unnamed OEMs on the program.

Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos (center) committed to using 10,000 electric rickshaws in India by 2025.

The company began pilot tests using the vehicles last year in several cities. Over the next several months, the first batch of EVs will be deployed in 20 locations, including India’s automotive centers in Bangalore, Delhi and Pune.

Does it Matter?

There’s no reason to get excited about electric rickshaws. But the program is indicative of how delivery vehicles are increasingly becoming a proving ground for new technologies worldwide.

In addition to EVs, Amazon and others are testing everything from autonomous delivery trucks, pods and bots to walking robots and flying drones. Several automakers also are partnering with Amazon to allow customers to use their vehicle as a delivery point (whether or not anyone is there).

Plugging India In

Electric rickshaws also could help jumpstart India’s fledgling EV market. Despite plans to ban sales of gasoline- and diesel-powered vehicles early next decade, cumulative EV sales in the country totaled only about 8,000 units over the last six years.

Getting customers to buy higher-priced EVs has been particularly challenging during the country’s recent sales slump. Another hurdle: There are only 650 charging stations in the entire country, compared with more than 450,000 in China and some 70,000 in the U.S.

Sustainability Deliverables

Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos announced the electric rickshaw program as part of a larger commitment to invest $1 billion in India in coming years. Much of the focus will be on environmentally focused initiatives.

By increasingly converting its global fleet to EVs, Amazon estimates it can reduce its annual carbon dioxide emissions by 4 million tons by 2030. Under its new Climate Pledge, the company aims to become carbon neutral by 2040, which would be 10 years earlier than Paris Accord’s goal.