Jeff Bezos-led Amazon Introduces E-Rickshaws For Delivery In a video announcing the rollout, the world's richest man drove one of the three-wheelers, part of a fleet which will be used by the e-commerce giant to deliver goods.
By Debroop Roy
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Days after creating noise across India with several high-profile announcements, Amazon chief Jeff Bezos has another gift for the country. Amazon will now be introducing electric-powered delivery rickshaws in India, Bezos said in a tweet on Monday.
In a video announcing the rollout, the world's richest man drove one of the three-wheelers, part of a fleet which will be used by the e-commerce giant to deliver goods.
Bezos tweeted: "Hey, India. We're rolling out our new fleet of electric delivery rickshaws. Fully electric. Zero carbon."
Amazon has a global commitment of having 100,000 electric vehicles as part of its delivery fleet by 2030. The aim is to save four million metric tonnes of carbon per year.
Hey, India. We're rolling out our new fleet of electric delivery rickshaws. Fully electric. Zero carbon. #ClimatePledge pic.twitter.com/qFXdZOsY4y
— Jeff Bezos (@JeffBezos) January 20, 2020
Bezos Big on India
Last week, speaking at Amazon India's event for small and medium businesses (SMBs) in New Delhi, Bezos said 21st century was going to be the "Indian century", with the most important alliance being between the US and India. "It is going to be an alliance between the world's largest democracy and the world's oldest democracy," he said.
At the event, Bezos said the company would export $10 billion worth of India-made products annually and announced a widely publicized investment of $1 billion for digitising Indian SMBs.
India's minister of commerce and industry Piyush Goyal, however, dismissed the announcement, saying the billionaire was not doing a favor with the investment. Goyal later clarified saying he did not have a problem with investments from e-commerce firms as long as they adhered to regulatory norms.
Bezos ended his three-day trip with a statement where he promised to create a million jobs in the country by 2025.
Climate Pledge
Major corporations and countries across the world have been criticized by climate activists for not doing their part to prevent what could become a global catastrophe.
In September, Amazon co-founded the Climate Pledge, a commitment to meet the Paris agreement 10 years early. The pledge calls on signatories to be net zero carbon across their businesses by 2040.
"We're done being in the middle of the herd on this issue—we've decided to use our size and scale to make a difference," Bezos said in the September statement.
During his India visit, he emphasized on how climate change was real and those denying it were not being reasonable.
"We will eliminate plastic by June 2020 in India," said Bezos.
