Amazon's Rivian electric vans coming to a street near you very soon

Amazon is getting ready to start making deliveries with the company's electric delivery vans that were developed by Rivian. Amazon has ordered 10,000 (initially and up to 100,000) of the custom vans and vans have been filmed out making test deliveries. The future of home delivery is almost here. Check out my previous post for more info. Also check out Drive Tesla Canada's video of Amazon's new van making test deliveries on LA after the "read more" jump.

Source: Amazon/Rivian/YouTube - Previous post

Zoox Incorporated shows its Robotaxi autonomous vehicle

 

Zoox Inc, unveiled its purpose-built Robotaxi autonomous vehicle that could be used in urban settings replacing "normal" taxis and ride-share services. Zoox's autonomous tech is far along in the development process with prototypes currently testing in Las Vegas, San Francisco, and Foster City (Zoox's home town). Zoox was purchased by Amazon this year and became an independent subsidiary of the giant corporation. Zoox's Robotaxi makes a lot of sense for big cities and, just possibly, for the delivery of goods between warehouses, consumers. etc. Could this be the source of Amazon's interest? The Robotaxi has a large 133 kW battery pack that would allow for 16 hours of continuous usage and fast recharges. The Robotaxi is bi-directional making parking, etc. a breeze. It also features four-wheel steering for improved maneuverability. Top speed is limited to 75 mph. In developing the Robotaxi, Zoox developed more than 100 pieces of new safety tech such as special airbags that would protect riders in the Robotaxi's open interior and more. We are very close to having totally autonomous vehicles and if you live in a fairly large metropolis, you could see Robotaxis soon. See the videos in the preceding post. We shall see. More to come...

Source: Zoox - Media release, pics. Video post.

Amazon shows new electric delivery van developed with EV maker Rivian

This just shows to go ya, what can happen when a large company puts it's money where it's proverbial mouth is. Amazon has Made a "Climate Pledge" to reduce emissions and to become net zero carbon across its operations by 2040. As such, Amazon enlisted the help of EV maker Rivian (whose trucks I've posted about before) to develop it's own electric delivery van to help meet the pledge. It also helps that EVs in general are more efficient, less polluting, and cheaper to run that ICE (internal combustion engine) vans. It also allows Amazon to spec it's new vans specific to their needs like short trips between stops, silence, space, etc. In this way, Amazon got exactly what they wanted and didn't have to retro-fit an existing model. Smart. It's also kinda cool looking with a front visage that is cute and non-threatening and it is also Amazon branded (aka free advertising). Amazon has ordered 10,000 of these EV vans that should start hitting the road no later than 2022. For more info, check out the media releases and pics after the "read more" jump or check out the video in the next post.

Source: Amazon - Media release and pics

Amazon's first custom 100% electric delivery vehicle

Source: Amazon/YouTube