• The New York Times reports that "Rivian, the electric-car maker, said on Friday that it was recalling 13,000 vehicles after identifying an issue that could affect drivers’ ability to steer some of its vehicles … the flaw, in rare instances, can impede steering, a company spokesperson said. Noise, vibration and harshness from the front suspension are among the symptoms of the problem.
"The issue affects 1 percent of the vehicles, but an inability to control the steering wheel will occur in a much smaller number, the spokesperson said. Rivian sent an email to customers and promised to make repairs for free, planning to do so within 30 days."
The story notes that Rivian has positioned itself as a Tesla competitor, but "has struggled to meet production goals because of the computer chip shortage and to fulfill its promise to provide Amazon, one of its biggest investors, with delivery vans."
• Electrek reports that Amazon "will spend €1 billion to electrify its delivery fleet in Europe over the next five years … The company currently has around 3,000 zero-emission last-mile delivery vans in Europe. Amazon doesn’t say what percentage of its vans are electric, but does say that these zero-emission vans delivered 100 million packages last year.
"This investment will allow the company to expand that number to 10,000 vans across Europe by 2025. These 'last-mile' vans are used on local delivery routes, bringing packages to individual homes. Amazon also has 'micro-mobility' delivery hubs in 20 European cities that enable delivery by cargo bike and on foot, and it plans to double this network of hubs.
"Amazon will also buy larger, heavy-duty electric trucks for 'middle-mile' shipments. These are vehicles like the Tesla Semi, Freightliner eCascadia, and Volvo VNR electric that move large amounts of goods from ports to distribution centers.
"Finally, the investment will also cover installation of thousands of chargers at the company’s facilities around the continent.
"Amazon did not specify which brands of vehicles it would buy."
