Rivian's early investment from Amazon was a crucial part of its early days. Starting a car company is extraordinarily expensive, and Amazon had the coffers to help make it happen. But the e-commerce giant wanted something in return: An all-electric delivery van for its fleet. The Electric Delivery Van (EDV) may seem like a weird product for a premium, adventure-focused company. But according to a driver review, it turned out great.
"I want to give you my honest opinion," YouTuber and Amazon driver Chris Sing says in his latest video. "This thing's awesome."
As he goes through his day's delivery route—with about 160 stops and hundreds of packages—he explains why. First, he's a big fan of the truck's keyless go system. The Rivian EDV allows you to drive whenever the keyfob is detected near the steering wheel, meaning a driver can pull up to a stop and walk away with the key in their pocket without worrying about someone making off with the van. The Rivian will also automatically close the cargo door when the fob gets far away, meaning they don't have to worry about anyone heisting the packages when they step away.
At his previous job with FedEx, Chin had to turn off the truck, put the keys in his pocket, close the rear door manually, drop the package off, grab the keys and restart the truck. The Rivian has simplified the process. He gets out, grabs the package, drops it and gets back in. The EDV is ready to go.
But the bigger quality-of-life improvement comes from a more rudimentary piece of technology: An air conditioner. Many FedEx contractors don't get A/C in their trucks, and UPS' union had to fight to force the logistics service to fit all future truck purchases with A/C. The Rivian not only has A/C, but cooled seats, too. That's a lifesaver for a delivery driver hauling boxes in hot summer months.
Another tech advantage is the built-in digital cluster with maps. Because his route is programmed directly into the truck seamlessly via a QR code system, Sing says he no longer has to run down his phone battery running maps. Speaking of batteries, he doesn't lodge any complaints about range, so we'll assume that's a high mark. Fleet companies have their own charging infrastructure and predictable route distances, so they can largely avoid any range issues. Notice how you never see a FedEx truck at your local Shell station.
But don't expect the EDV to take over the delivery market just yet. For starters, Ram is coming out with a direct rival to the EDV, the ProMaster EV. You can read our first drive here. Then there's the cost, which Sing doesn't mention but is surely a barrier. Pricing for the EDV starts about $80,000. What Sing does mention is damage issues. Delivery vans get beat up, and the EDV Sing drives bears the scars. It's got a lot of small issues that have added up over time.
That's definitely a problem for Rivian's pitch to fleet customers, as the company's service infrastructure is not nearly as robust as Rivals like Ram, and the commercial-grade companies that make FedEX and UPS step van. Sing doesn't think those firms will be switching over in masse anytime soon, either, for another reason: size.
"There's one problem. This van, it isn't that big," Sing says.
FedEx and UPS step vans are massive relative to Amazon vans, and carry far heavier payloads. One limitation of both the EDV and the ProMaster EV is that neither can match the payload capacity of an internal-combustion van. While that's fine for delivering primarily light cargo like Amazon packages containing electronics and random bobs, heavier freight requires a more heavy-duty van. Hopefully Rivian will eventually make a bigger EDV with a higher payload. But for a first effort, the EDV is damned good at its job.
