Charge It: Frito-Lay Trucks Going Electric

PepsiCo numbers crunchers could get to scratch off a nice chunk of change from its Frito-Lay division’s delivery budget. After all, the company will be eliminating a half a million gallons of fuel annually from the budget when makes 176 of its North American delivery trucks electric.

According to Today’s Trucking, that’s what the company plans to do before year’s end. It has already started running 10 of the trucks in Orlando.

“With the seventh largest privately owned fleet in the U.S., we have set a goal of becoming the most fuel efficient fleet in the country," said Mike O’Connell, senior director of fleet for Frito-Lay North America, according to the report. "These vehicles give us an opportunity to use the latest advances in transportation technology as a significant way to reduce our environmental impact.”

Made by Smith Electric Vehicles, the trucks are “designed to operate at peak effectiveness in urban environments,” the site reports, and “generate zero tailpipe emissions and operate for up to 100 miles on a single charge.” The change will allow each truck to “emit 75 percent less greenhouse gases than a conventional diesel truck,” according to Today’s Trucking.