Amazon taps Einride to electrify heavy-duty freight operations

On Tuesday, Swedish startup Einride announced an agreement to add 75 of its electric heavy-duty trucks to Amazon’s Relay freight network. Under the terms of the deal, Einride will also provide charging infrastructure across five locations in the United States. Amazon is not purchasing or operating the electric trucks directly. Instead, Einride will retain ownership and manage the fleet using its Saga AI software, making the vehicles available to drivers within the Amazon Relay network. Relay, which was launched in 2017, is an app that truck drivers use to book hauling gigs with the e-commerce giant. This structure allows Amazon to utilize the electric vehicles without owning them, relying on Einride’s managed service model.

The partnership expands Einride’s operational footprint, giving the Swedish startup a key toehold in the e-commerce giant’s operations. Einride already operates a fleet of about 200 heavy-duty electric trucks for corporate clients including Heineken, PepsiCo, and Carlsberg Sweden across Europe, North America, and the UAE. While Einride has gained attention and investment for its two-pronged approach to freight—which includes both its electric fleet and its autonomous, cab-less pod trucks—the agreement with Amazon does not include these autonomous vehicles.

Einride CEO Roozbeh Charli framed the collaboration as a validation of the startup’s technology and strategic direction, noting that deploying its intelligent platform within a highly sophisticated logistics network will accelerate its growth while building its operational expertise.

For Amazon, which has a market cap of $2.7 trillion, the rollout aligns with its long-term environmental commitments. The e-commerce giant aims to reach net-zero carbon emissions across its operations by 2040. An Amazon spokesperson said, “This rollout is an important step forward in addressing one of the toughest challenges we face in decarbonizing our transportation network — electrifying heavy-duty trucking,” adding that the company is excited to continue to collaborate with Einride and learn from these operations as the trucks hit the road.

The deal arrives at a critical juncture for Einride. The Swedish startup is currently finalizing a merger with Legato Merger Corp., a blank-check company, and is expected to go public soon.

Why it matters

This partnership provides Einride with significant operational scale within a major logistics network, validating its managed service model as it prepares to go public.