Amazon goes Old World for new electric trucks

Amazon has taken a significant step toward reducing its carbon footprint with the announcement of its largest-ever order of electric heavy goods vehicles (eHGVs). The company has committed to acquiring over 200 new eActros 600 vehicles from European truck maker Mercedes-Benz Trucks. They will be integrated into Amazon’s existing eHGV transportation network later this year. The purchase is a big win for Mercedes-Benz Trucks, as it represents the largest electric heavy goods truck contract to date.

The initiative is part of Amazon’s broader sustainability goals and part of the company’s Climate Pledge signed back in 2019. Amazon aims to achieve net-zero carbon emissions across its operations by 2040.

Amazon previously tested an eActros 600 prototype at one of its logistics centers in Germany. Of the 200-plus trucks, over 140 will be deployed in the U.K. and over 50 in Germany. That adds to the 38 Amazon eHGVs that have operated on European roads since 2024. 

The strategy for the trucks will be hauling along high-mileage routes in Amazon’s middle-mile network, going to and from Amazon fulfillment centers, sort centers and delivery stations. 

For the eHGV itself, a little nomenclature is required to understand how it differs from its longer cousin, the North American Class 8 tractor. For American readers, the first thing one notices about the eActros 600 is that it’s a cabover engine (COE),  less common on U.S. roads today due to trucking regulation changes in this country.

The golden age of COEs extended from the late 1950s through the early ’80s when the Surface Transportation Assistance Act of 1982 extended vehicle lengths and brought ab…

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