Amazon expands electric fleet with record Mercedes-Benz order
Amazon integrated more than 1,800 fully electric eVito and eSprinter vehicles into its delivery network in 2020. Now nearly 5,000 additional electric vans from Mercedes-Benz will join the fleet in the coming months — the largest single order of electric vehicles (EVs) in the carmaker's history.
Mercedes-Benz said the new vehicles will be deployed in five European countries, with a large portion based in Germany.
Amazon expects the expanded fleet to deliver more than 200-million parcels annually.
'I am delighted that we are intensifying our long-standing relationship with Amazon and working together towards the fully electric future of transportation,' said Sagree Sardien, head of sales and marketing at Mercedes-Benz Vans.
'The courier, express and parcel service industry again proves to be a key driver of electromobility. Our eVito and eSprinter are perfectly tailored to meet the demands of our commercial customers regarding efficiency and range. They demonstrate that locally CO 2 emission-free driving, impressive performance, comfort and low operating costs can be perfectly combined.'
'This deployment of 5,000 electric delivery vans underscores our work to reduce carbon emissions in our operations,' said Amazon global fleet and product director Neil Emery.
'From electric bikes to vans to trucks and infrastructure, we are well on our way to transforming our transportation network. We look forward to continuing to work with Mercedes-Benz to enable faster electrification and decarbonisation across Europe.'
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Daily Maverick
3 hours ago
- Daily Maverick
Crossed Wires: Which billionaires have not bent the knee to Trump?
Much has been written about the surprising political pivot of erstwhile Democrat-supporting billionaires (many of them from tech) to the welcoming embrace of Maga after decades of support for liberalism. Bezos of Amazon, Musk of X/Tesla, Zuckerberg of Meta and Andreessen of Andreessen Horowitz have all shed blue cloaks since Trump's ascendance and donned bright red ones. Some others have shifted more quietly and pragmatically, perhaps making some allowance for the new winds of politics and a vengeful president. These are not normal times, of course. The current president is slashing and burning any entity that does not toe his thick red line, whether they are Harvard, CBS, NPR, Voice of America or Associated Press. Not to mention Canada, for God's sake. It is unprecedented. A large pair of balls is required if you want to refuse to pay obeisance – there are real consequences, as we have seen. It is with this in mind, and catalysed by the stunning success of self-declared socialist Zohran Mamdani in the New York Democratic mayoral candidate race last week, that I set out to find some tech bros who remain committed to good old liberal values and who continue to talk about climate change and renewables, as well as DEI and trans and immigrants' rights, as though Maga had never happened. It turns out that there are still quite a few – some more vocal and others keeping quiet. Perhaps these 'woke' holdouts will feel the wind at their backs again in 2028. Politics is fickle and forgetful, and public perception apt to balance on the wobbly fence of economic good times. No-man's-land Let's dispense with those who have been careful to stay in no-man's-land. Tim Cook of Apple has stayed partially out of the fray. He made the trek to Mar-a-Lago to dine with Trump early on, if only to say, 'We are as happy to work with you as with all other presidents.' Then he got into a small spat with Trump about where to manufacture iPhones, which argument seems to have dissipated, probably because Trump was informed that iPhones simply cannot be manufactured in the US at a competitive cost. How about Sergey Brin and Larry Page of Alphabet/Google? They are both longtime left-leaning centrists who have managed to stay out of the debate by saying little and keeping their personal opinions private. Jensen Huang of Nvidia, on the other hand, has found himself in a bit of a pickle. In 2016, he was quoted as saying, 'In general I prefer a more liberal government', but now, at the head of what is possibly the US's most politically sensitive technology, AI, he has to make nice with the administration that holds all the keys to sanctions and IP restrictions. Mind you, what with Nvidia's dominance in AI hardware, the Trump administration has to make nice with Huang too, so Trump and Huang exist in a politely necessary co-dependent relationship. They are not bros. Anti-Trump brigade This brings us to the others – the ones who clearly do not like Trump and will not bend the knee, the ones whose moral compass has not changed. (I am not passing judgment here on whether that moral compass's needle is pointed in the right direction, only that it seems not to have moved.) These include, most notably, Mark Cuban. Cuban made his fortune in streaming in the late '90s and has since diversified promiscuously. He is (like many self-made-billionaires-at-40) brash, opinionated and smart. He has accused Trump of being a 'snake oil salesman', of being scared of 'strong, intelligent women', of being 'a threat' to the US and of having 'fascist tendencies'. He has been critical of the Democrats, too, accusing them of 'not being able to sell shit' but he has also remained steadfastly outspoken on core left-wing planks like DEI. Then there is Reid Hoffman, co-founder of LinkedIn. His outspoken criticism of Trump caused him to consider leaving the US when Trump was re-elected (out of fear of retribution), but he has not done so and continues to actively support Democratic causes and candidates. And Reed Hastings, co-founder of Netflix, remains firmly 'progressive' except for his controversial support of private over public schooling, which has put him at odds with traditional Democrats. Finally, Satya Nadella of Microsoft. He is also seemingly untainted one way or the other, is unfailingly diplomatic and not given to political statements. But Microsoft's contributions tell a different story – they are 4:1 in favour of the Democratic Party. Billionaire influence The narrative in its entirety tells an interesting story. These people have enormous influence and deep pockets. Where they lean has direct influence on the direction of US governance, not only via their monetary contributions, but in terms of the messages they implicitly whisper to their large customer bases. So, why have some moved to the right, either publicly or privately? Mark Andreessen, in a recent podcast, described a meeting at the Biden White House with other tech executives and some of Biden's team. The subject was AI regulation. At the conclusion of the meeting, the executives went downstairs and huddled in the parking lot. One of them said, 'So I guess it's Trump for us?' They all agreed, at least in Andreessen's telling. For them, the issue was government regulation, nothing else. It was not the money, or at least not completely. It was what Andreessen and the others saw as clumsy and constraining government interference in the sort of innovation they believed to be a national imperative. It may be the case that some of these billionaires left their longtime political homes because Democratic policies pushed them away, but I suspect others moved to the right (and particularly toward Trump) because that's where the money is. Perhaps also because no one wants to deal with Trump's wrath. The only way we'll know for sure is if and when a new Democratic president is elected and the Zuckerbergs and Bezoses come crawling back or not. Only then will we know whether they are motivated by money or principle. DM Maverick451
TimesLIVE
11 hours ago
- TimesLIVE
Antonelli pays the price for Verstappen collision
Mercedes rookie Kimi Antonelli was given a three-place grid drop for the British Grand Prix after dumping Formula One champion Max Verstappen out of Red Bull's home race in Austria on Sunday. The 18-year-old Italian rookie lost control and collided with the four-times champion on the opening lap, after narrowly missing Racing Bulls' Liam Lawson, with neither able to continue. It was Verstappen's first retirement of the season and left him still third in the championship but now 61 points adrift of McLaren's Oscar Piastri after 11 of 24 rounds. Piastri finished second in a McLaren one-two with race winner Lando Norris. "I braked hard because I was behind other cars, and in that moment I locked the rears. Then I just couldn't stop the car," said Antonelli, who had taken his first career F1 podium in the previous round in Canada. "The car was just taking speed and the crash was inevitable. I just feel super sorry to the team, and to Max of course, because obviously he was just a passenger." Stewards ruled that Antonelli was fully at fault and also gave him two penalty points. At a circuit where he has won a record five times, Verstappen had started seventh on the grid, with Antonelli lining up ninth, "I'm out, I got hit like crazy," Verstappen said over the team radio, with an additional expletive. "It's just unlucky, like yesterday in qualifying," he told Sky Sports television later. "But overall, we didn't really have that great pace anyway this weekend, so a lot of learning for us how we can hopefully do better next weekend. "My mentality doesn't change. We've won a lot in the past. Sometimes you have to accept that you are not winning, and we just try to do the best that we can." The retirement ended a run of 31 grands prix in the points for the Dutch driver, whose fans throng in their thousands to the Red Bull Ring but this time never got to see him race. The start was later than scheduled after Carlos Sainz's Williams got stuck on the grid as cars moved away for the formation lap.
IOL News
12 hours ago
- IOL News
Lando Norris resists Oscar Piastri to lead dominant McLaren 1-2 in Austria
McLaren dominant Lando Norris celebrates on the podium next to teammate Oscar Piastri, a technician, and third placed Charles Leclerc after the Formula One Austrian Grand Prix at the Red Bull Ring race track in Spielberg on Sunday. Photo: Joe Klamar/AFP Image: Joe Klamar/AFP Lando Norris resisted vigorous attacks from team-mate and championship leader Oscar Piastri to claim a masterful McLaren 1-2 in Sunday's Austrian Grand Prix. In torrid heat at the Red Bull Ring, the 25-year-old Briton came home 2.695 seconds clear of the 24-year-old Australian to trim his lead in the title race by 15 points It was Norris's first win in Austria, his third win this year and the seventh of his career. It was McLaren's first win in Austria since David Coulthard triumphed in 2001. Get your news on the go, click here to join the IOL News WhatsApp channel. The McLaren pair battled throughout the race to provide thrilling racing for the packed crowd and put behind them their collision in Canada two weeks earlier. Charles Leclerc was third ahead of his Ferrari team-mate seven-time champion Lewis Hamilton, their best result of the year, with George Russell finishing fifth for Mercedes. "It was a tough race," said Norris. "Pushing the whole way through… tricky, hot, tiring, but the perfect result for us as a team, a 1-2 again. We had a great battle, that's for sure." For Piastri, it was equally demanding. "Intense!" he said. 'Hard work' "I hope it was good watching because from inside the car it was hard work. Yeah, I tried my absolute best." Liam Lawson came in a career-best sixth for RB on a desultory day for the senior Red Bull team after four-time champion Max Verstappen retired on the opening lap after being hit by Mercedes' teenage rookie Kimi Antonelli. He is now 61 points behind Piastri. Two-time champion Fernando Alonso was seventh ahead of Gabriel Bortoleto and his Sauber team-mate Nico Hulkenberg, the future Audi outfit showing their huge potential, with Esteban Ocon finishing 10th for Haas. After a frantic prelude, during which Carlos Sainz's Williams failed to leave the grid and then caught fire in the pit lane, the race was delayed for 10 minutes – before delivering immediate drama at the second attempt. Norris made a clean start while, behind him, Piastri passed Leclerc on the outside of Turn One before Antonelli locked up and lost control at Turn Three and hit Verstappen's Red Bull. A safety car was deployed as both drivers retired on lap one ending, for the defending champion a run of 31 races in the points. "I got hit," said the Dutchman on team radio. The teenage rookie apologised. "I locked the rear. Sorry about that," he told Mercedes. The race resumed after a two-minute slowdown and Norris was forced immediately to defend as Piastri, looking sharp, attacked as also did Russell on Hamilton for fourth. Both were thwarted by defensive driving. By lap 12, the McLaren duo were four seconds clear and delivering a show of their own. Unhampered by any embarrassing hangovers from their collision in Montreal, they raced side by side and wheel to wheel, but each time the Australian attacked, the Briton hung on. In scorching heat of 32 degrees (air) and 55 (track), it was a perfect advertisement for the historic venue in the Styrian Alps which had secured a 16-year contract extension to 2041 before the race. Norris pitted, taking hards, after surviving another Piastri lunge, at turn four, on lap 20. Piastri then followed suit, emerging fourth until Leclerc pitted. After the leaders out on track also changed tyres Norris led Piastri by 6.5 seconds. Red Bull's misery intensified on lap 30 when Yuki Tsunoda hit Colapinto, sending both to the pits for repairs. The Japanese rejoined 16th and last of the runners with a new front wing before being handed a 10-second penalty. As the field settled Norris led Piastri by 3.2s. Russell began the second round of stops on lap 46, followed by the rest of the leaders, leaving Norris to complete a near-perfect day in the Styrian mountains. AFP
