On the Dash:
- Amazon is piloting about 12 GM BrightDrop vans as part of its effort to expand electric delivery options, though Rivian remains its primary EV supplier with more than 24,000 vans already in service.
- GM is seeking to grow its relationship with Amazon after selling it a small batch of vans in 2023, but BrightDrop has struggled with slow sales and was folded into GM’s fleet division in 2024.
- Amazon’s EV strategy remains diversified, with over 31,000 electric vehicles in its fleet and tests of more than 15 models, as the company pushes toward its 2030 goal of 100,000 electric delivery vans.
Amazon is quietly testing General Motors Co.’s BrightDrop electric delivery vans, expanding its evaluation of vehicle options as part of its goal to reduce carbon emissions across its vast delivery network.
The company confirmed the pilot program in a statement to Bloomberg, noting it includes about a dozen vans. An Amazon spokesperson said the company intends to commit to having 100,000 electric delivery vehicles on the road by 2030.
The trial adds GM to a roster of automakers supplying Amazon’s operations, which already use vehicles from Ford, Mercedes-Benz, Stellantis, and Rivian. Amazon has tested more than 15 electric vehicle models and currently operates more than 31,000 battery-powered vans, including over 24,000 Rivians.
Amazon’s 2019 partnership with Rivian, backed by a massive investment and an order of 100,000 vans by 2030, has been central to the company’s sustainability marketing. But deliveries still rely heavily on gasoline-powered models like the Ford Transit and Ram ProMaster. Rivian, meanwhile, has faced financial pressures, including job cuts, reduced delivery targets, tariffs under President Donald Trump, and the looming expiration of the U.S. EV tax credit.
GM’s pilot project with Amazon could be valuable, as the automaker sold a small batch of BrightDrop vans in 2023. A broader partnership could strengthen GM’s position in the competitive fleet market. Launched in 2021 to offer electric delivery vehicles and logistics software, BrightDrop has struggled to gain traction and was merged into GM’s Envolve fleet division by August 2024.
As of the first half of 2025, fewer than 1,600 BrightDrop vans have been sold, and production at its plant was paused in April due to low demand, though executives still see fleet sales as a growth opportunity.
Amazon buys vehicles in bulk and leases them through fleet management companies to its network of delivery contractors. Those contractors also secure their own vehicles, sometimes including BrightDrops. Substituting electric vehicles for gasoline-powered vans remains a cornerstone of Amazon’s plan to cut delivery emissions, even as it balances competing automakers and technologies.
