So was talking to a non Amazon seller friend who said they are starting to see the electric smile vans and he asked a good question I didn’t have an answer to.
Where do the old smile vans go?
Haven’t seen any second hand yet. I have seen our deliveries change from ram/sprinters to box trucks to transits and now the electrics, and I have yet to see old ones for sale on the second hand market or even with a sticker for a new company (like a contractor purchasing used then they throw their logo on it).
They are a non standard color so they will stick out if they are sold.
That makes sense actually. But you would think, with the amount of EVs they are building, that the new areas would just start fresh. But that makes sense so you’re probably right.
Wonder how the EV vans will work out. Great idea, but will they be durable? The delivery people seem to enjoy them. At least they have a perk, driving brand new technology around.
I think the opposite. The EVs will require infrastructure, so it makes sense to put them in established high-volume areas where the demand is known. Also, the EVs (in general) are well suited for higher density areas, where there might be several stops within a single block; so if expanding into more rural delivery areas, there is less benefit over the gas/diesel trucks.
I see a fair number of the EVs, as well as a lot of the Transits (with possibly some Sprinters mixed in; don’t generally look close enough) on a regular basis, and not all are grey; still see a few white ones, usually unmarked, but with Amazon uniforms being worn by the driver.
And last delivery came from two different trucks, although delivered at the same time (second truck (white) had to wait for the first truck (EV) to get out of the way.)
Not sure how the city/delivery wear might wear out these trucks, but I’ll likely be looking for a new van in the next few years, so maybe some used ones will be out there (then again, my 7’ clearance van is enough of a pain for parking; higher would be terrible).
Remember the post about Amazon making a commitment to expand one day and second day into rural areas? It would make sense that Amazon would push those old “gas” smile vans into the rural areas where there is only gas infrastructure and/or little EV support (like our area).
I think the vans all charge up at the FC’s they are dispatched from. The infrastructure is there before they roll them out.
With that said, if the daily route goes beyond the range of the van, it doesn’t make sense to use them in rural areas until they can improve on the range.
That was our point … Amazon would recycle the old “gas” vans into the rural areas as they expand into the rural areas. There is value for “gas” vans in the rural areas where the EV infrastructure hasn’t been developed yet.
We have several FCs in the area, but I think that the EV trucks are charged at a separate location; it’s a a former Fuji building, that got converted to a Ford maintenance area; now just has hundreds of Smile trucks parked there. I’ve not looked hard enough (you keep your eyes on the road in Jersey!), but I suspect that the chargers are there. At least one FC nearby is pretty lacking in parking area around the buildings, and the one for Amazon Logistics (less than a mile away) has only loading docks and room for maybe 100 or so cars (which doesn’t seem like enough just tor the employee parking; no idea if they have a remote lot. Then again, I don’t really know how many people would be working there)
I think the EVs are charged at the contractor’s facility and not the FCs.
I do not believe that they are only being deployed in high density areas.
We are served from a facility close to the Mass NH line, Haverhill and the vans travel 30 miles before they make any deliveries in our town and the deliveries reflect the appropriate travel time.
Those EVs are purchased by the contractors, through Amazon, with Amazon financing. I suspect Amazon’s attorneys have spelled out clear lines of responsibility for the contractors to strengthen the defense of the independent relationship which offends a variety of activists.
The Sprinter and Transits are typical looking modern high-top vans; hard to tell apart at a glance.
As for the EV, trust me; when you see one, you’ll know! (if you’re not sure, they usually say so on the side).
