Posts falsely claim Amazon converting delivery fleet to diesel

"Amazon converts fleet back to Diesel as electric doesn't cut it," says a December 4, 2023 Facebook post.

The claim has circulated elsewhere on Facebook and X, formerly known as Twitter -- including in French. Some appear to translate from a German post with more than 20,000 interactions that says electric "does not fit the service concept."

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Screenshot from Facebook taken December 18, 2023

The rumors spread amid the busy holiday shopping season -- but there is no basis for them.

"The posts are false," an Amazon spokesperson said in a December 18 email, pointing to the company's latest update on reducing the carbon footprint of its delivery fleet (archived here).

"Amazon began rolling out its electric delivery vans in the summer of 2022 and now has more than 10,000 across the US," the statement says.

Christian Castro, a spokesperson for the Teamsters -- a union that represents Amazon drivers in Palmdale, California -- told AFP in a December 21 email that he had not "heard anything" about the company switching to diesel.

"We have only heard of Amazon drivers using gasoline vans," he said.

Electric vehicles

In 2019, Amazon committed to putting 100,000 electric delivery vehicles on the road, with CEO Jeff Bezos estimating they could be fully deployed as soon as 2024. The company invested $700 million in electric vehicle manufacturer Rivian, which is producing delivery vans.

In part due to supply chain issues at Rivian, Amazon now says the full electric fleet should be on the road by 2030.

In addition to the vans in the United States, Amazon "recently announced more than 300 will hit the road in Germany, joining a fleet of thousands of electric vans already in operation in Europe."

Rivian said July 3, 2023 that it had begun deliveries of electric-powered vans in Europe.

Amazon also ordered 1,800 electric vehicles from Mercedes-Benz. Diesel vehicles in Germany were replaced for some longer trips with 20 fully electric, heavy-duty trucks from Volvo at the end of 2022.

Amazon's reports do not indicate the total number of vehicles in its fleet, but the company says its Delivery Service Partners employ about 279,000 drivers.

Despite pledges to decarbonize its delivery fleet, Amazon has been criticized for not effectively addressing its overall carbon footprint. Its 2022 sustainability report (archived here) showed a decrease of less than one percent from the prior year.

The fact-checking organization Correctiv also debunked claims that Amazon is switching to diesel after contacting the German organization cited as the source of the rumor (archived here).

AFP has fact-checked other climate-related claims here.