Jan 14 (Reuters) - Amazon ( AMZN ) said on Tuesday it

has ordered 200 Mercedes-Benz fully-electric eActros 600 heavy

goods vehicles from Daimler to serve the German and

UK markets in its largest electric truck order so far.

The e-commerce giant said the trucks will start joining its

network later this year and will be deployed on "high-mileage

routes" across Amazon's ( AMZN ) middle-mile network between fulfilment

centres, sort centres and delivery stations.

"This is a a major milestone for us," Andreas Marschner,

Amazon's ( AMZN ) Vice President of Amazon Worldwide Operations

Sustainability, told Reuters. "Decarbonizing the heavy goods

sector is the most challenging part of the transportation

space."

This order is part of Amazon's ( AMZN ) commitment to hit net-zero

carbon emissions across its operations by 2040. It is also the

largest electric truck order yet for the Mercedes-Benz Trucks

brand, Daimler said.

Aside from a price tag far above diesel truck equivalents,

logistics companies have struggled to find electric trucks that

have enough range to handle demanding delivery routes and the

charging infrastructure to keep them on the road.

The 40-ton eActros 600 has a range of 500 km (311 miles)

that Marschner said makes it adaptable to Amazon's ( AMZN ) delivery

network.

But he added that Amazon ( AMZN ) is supporting the trucks' roll-out

by building a 360 kilowatt fast charger network on its own

sites, which can charge a truck from 20% to 80% in less than an

hour, "which is compatible also with legal driver breaks."

He said that efforts to boost charging infrastructure in the

European Union and the United Kingdom are still in early stages

and Amazon ( AMZN ) is working with charging companies and regulators to

speed up investments.

"The major transportation corridors in the UK and Germany

are still very limited with public charging and high-capacity

charging we would need for trucks," Marschner said. "This is a

challenge these days as it reduces the ability to use these

assets."