Skip to main content

All-electric delivery trucks hit the streets of Columbus

Frito-Lay North America division, the US$13 billion convenient foods business unit of PepsiCo, has started rolling out some of its fully electric delivery trucks in Columbus.
March 1, 2012 Read time: 2 mins
3488 Frito-Lay North America division, the US$13 billion convenient foods business unit of 3493 PepsiCo, has started rolling out some of its fully electric delivery trucks in Columbus. The first 10 trucks which are going into service will ultimately be part of the largest planned fleet of commercial all-electric trucks in North America.  This year, Columbus is one of three cities in the US, along with New York City and Ft. Worth, Texas, to deploy the vehicles with plans to roll out an additional 155 trucks in 2011.

Once the planned 176 electric trucks are deployed, Frito-Lay will eliminate the need for 500,000 gallons of fuel annually. Each truck emits 75 per cent less greenhouse gases than a conventional diesel truck.

"The electric vehicle programme builds on a long-standing commitment by Frito-Lay North America and its parent company PepsiCo to environmental sustainability," said Mike O'Connell, director of fleet for Frito Lay North America. "With the seventh largest privately owned fleet in the US, we have set a goal of becoming the most fuel efficient fleet in the country, and these vehicles give us an opportunity to use the latest advances in transportation technology as a significant way to reduce our environmental impact."

For more information on companies in this article

Related Content

  • Chris Tomlinson: 'My golden rule is have an open mind’
    July 27, 2021
    The executive director of Georgia’s mobility authorities explains tolling’s place in demand management, the benefits of being mode-agnostic and how to learn from other agencies
  • Beijing to replace all taxis with new energy vehicles
    March 3, 2017
    Beijing is aiming to gradually replace its petrol-powered taxis with greener new energy vehicles to help reduce air pollution starting from this year. The city currently has about 71,000 taxis in total, out of which 67,000 are conventionally powered. It has mandated that all petrol-and diesel-powered taxis being taken out of service must be replaced by electric or liquid petroleum gas (LPG) powered cars. Any new taxis should be electric or other types of new energy cars. The project is expected to cos
  • Silos are last century’s thinking
    April 21, 2016
    After 45 years in transportation, Ken Philmus sees the need for major change in a sector currently ill-prepared to meet the challenge of funding and rapidly advancing technological change. Having worked in both the public and private sectors, Ken Philmus, currently senior vice president of transportation solutions at Xerox, appreciates both approaches, but times are changing and he believes the sector needs to change too. “I like trains, planes and automobiles but I love the concept of mobility and that’s w
  • New technology and economics at ITS World Congress 2011
    January 19, 2012
    ITS America prepares for the 18th World Congress on ITS and 2011 Annual Meeting, 16-20 October 2011, Orange County Convention Center, Orlando, Florida. In the final moments of the 2008 ITS World Congress in New York City, organisers and planning committee members quietly celebrated the conclusion of another extremely successful event for the ITS industry. In spite of the economic climate at the time, the 2008 World Congress was well attended by delegates from 66 countries and yielded impressive results than