Frito-Lay Rolls Out More Electric Delivery Trucks in California

California is now home to the largest fleet of Frito-Lay electric delivery trucks.

State officials, including Gov. Edmund Brown Jr., joined senior leadership from PepsiCo's Frito-Lay North America division to announce the growth of Frito-Lay's California electric truck fleet. Once all of the vehicles are deployed by the end of 2012, California will be home to 105 all-electric delivery trucks, the largest deployment in any state.

By the end of this year, Frito-Lay will have more than 275 electric trucks deployed in the U.S., making Frito-Lay the largest commercial fleet of all-electric trucks in the country. In May of this year, Frito-Lay reached a milestone of one million all-electric miles driven.

When all 105 trucks are deployed by the end of this year, Frito-Lay expects to eliminate 200,000 gallons of fuel and nearly 4.5 million pounds of greenhouse gases annually in the state of California. The new all-electric trucks will operate from distribution centers located throughout California: Alameda, City of Industry, La Mirada, Manteca, San Diego, San Jose and Torrance.

"Nearly 20 percent of our medium-heavy duty delivery trucks in the state of California are slated to be transitioned to all-electric vehicles," said Leslie Starr Keating, senior vice president, supply chain for Frito-Lay North America. "We have seen the accelerated growth and acquisition of this innovative technology because of the support from California. It's these private and public partnerships that create the momentum that alternative-fuel vehicles need to become even more competitive."

Frito-Lay received a grant from the Mobile Source Air Pollution Reduction Review Committee, specifically in the South Coast Air Quality Management District. The company also received funding from the California Energy Commission and the Hybrid Truck Bus Voucher Incentive Project from California Air Resources Board, administered by CalStart.

In the U.S., Frito-Lay hopes to reduce its total fuel consumption and greenhouse gas emissions by 50 percent by 2020, compared to 2007 baseline. Across PepsiCo, in addition to electric trucks, the company has introduced 267 hybrid electric trucks and 67 compressed natural gas tractors; 176 hybrid electric vehicles and 14 CNG tractors are scheduled to operate in California.