Amazon delivery vans, manufactured by Rivian, keep catching fire.
That was the topic of a new report from Quartz.com this week which highlighted that the blue Prime vans seen all over the country keep catching fire at Amazon distribution centers.
"One starts to wonder why," QZ.com asked.
The report notes that footage from Third Coast Drone reveals Rivian vans ablaze outside an Amazon facility in Houston.
While the video doesn't show how the fire started, it captures firefighters working to control the flames. Importantly, the footage also reveals that each van was parked at a charging station.
This isn’t the first time Rivian vans have caught fire at an Amazon location, the report notes.
Last August, a similar incident occurred in Salt Lake City, where vans burned in a distribution center parking lot. Posts in Amazon worker subreddits revealed that drivers have reported issues with the vans charging in high heat and suspected the chargers as the cause of the blaze.
Chargers have been blamed for fires before, either due to improper home wiring or inadequate cooling.
What’s still unclear is whether professionally-installed chargers, like these Rivian units, are prone to the same issues as Level 2 chargers plugged into home dryer outlets.
Heat-related issues with electric vehicles are likely to become more common as global temperatures rise.
The transition to EVs still remains worthwhile according to QZ—just, maybe consider charging in the shade until these issues are resolved.
Sure thing. We'll be back to diesel powered delivery trucks in no time!
