Less Polluting Trucks Lead the Way

Frito-Lay, a PepsiCo subsidiary, recently announced plans to add more than 176 all-electric trucks to its delivery fleet over the next year and a half. Already five all-electric trucks have been deployed for the company’s New York routes this month, with plans to implement a total of 21 all-electric trucks by the end of the year.

They plan to add another 155 all-electric trucks by the end of 2011. The company already has six EVs operating in its Canada fleet which are made by Smith Electric Vehicles. They get up to 100 miles on a single charge, and, like any electric vehicle, are virtually silent.

Frito-Lay launched its first EV trucks in the New York metropolitan area in part because it was given a grant from the New York State Energy Research and Development Authority.

Frito-Lay estimates that once all 176+ Electric Vehicles (EVs) are implemented, it will save the company in excess of 500,000 gallons of fuel a year. ”With the seventh-largest privately owned fleet in the U.S., Frito-Lay has set a goal of becoming the most fuel-efficient fleet in the country,” the company said in their recent press release. Smith Electric is currently working with other companies to fulfill similar EV delivery truck plans.

FedEx Introduces First All-Electric Trucks To Be Used in the U.S. Parcel Delivery Business

FedEx Corp. recently introduced the first all-electric FedEx parcel delivery trucks in the United States. Four purpose-built electric trucks—optimized for electric operation from the wheels up—are slated to hit the road in the Los Angeles area starting in June 2010, joining more than 1,800 alternative-energy vehicles already in service for FedEx around the world.

Rather than creating its own proprietary technology, FedEx turned to the marketplace to spur solutions that can rapidly be scaled up to provide affordable and reliable service to a wide range of delivery truck operators. It is purchasing its first North American all-electric vehicles from two different suppliers to evaluate the robustness of this technology for demanding daily FedEx Express deliveries in the Los Angeles area and provide information to help guide future FedEx vehicle purchases.

Two of the new all-electric trucks come from Navistar, and are being assembled in Indiana. These are based on the Modec design already operated by FedEx in Europe. Another pair of electric vehicles is being purchased from a different manufacturer for delivery to the Los Angeles area later in 2010. Both sets of electric vehicles are designed with a range that allows many FedEx Express couriers to make a full eight-hour shift of deliveries before their vehicles need recharging. To read more about see FedEx Sustainable Initiatives.