Amazon has ordered 40 StreetScooter WORK Box electric vans which will be deployed at its distribution center in Munich Daglfing.

Complementing the vehicle order, StreetScooter has also installed 60 charging stations at the Amazon site.

"Amazon is committed to achieving the Paris agreement targets ten years ahead of schedule - in 2040 instead of 2050 - so we are collaborating with a number of different partners developing new technologies and helping promote a carbon-neutral economy," explained Adam Elman, Senior Lead Sustainability, Amazon Europe.

According to Jörg Sommer, StreetScooter performs better in total cost of ownership after just a few years as compared to conventional combustion-engine vehicles.

In recent years, Amazon has been building up its own delivery business in Germany, its second biggest market, in a challenge to major logistics firms like Deutsche Post DHL.

Deutsche Post DHL fully acquired StreetScooter in 2014 and uses about 10,000 of the 12,000 vehicles it has put on the road. The subsidiary has not managed to make a profit yet, but it is seeking new investors and customers to further ramp up production.

DHL will debut StreetScooter’s zero-emission Work L delivery van in two urban U.S. markets, starting in spring 2020, the companies said in November.

Daimler’s Mercedes-Benz said it had delivered 10 of its eVito electric transporters to Amazon on Wednesday.

Amazon last year announced it was ordering 100,000 electric vans from startup Rivian Automotive LLC before it has even begun commercial production, with deliveries starting in 2021.