Electrifying: PepsiCo, UPS progress on fleet updates
The vehicle that replenishes some of your company's snack machines will soon be ditching some of its diesel delivery trucks in favor of electric options. Meanwhile, the one that brings goodies to your home or office is testing a brand-new walk-in electric truck designed especial for parcel delivery.
The PepsiCo Frito-Lay division will introduce 176 trucks by the end of 2011. The first ones were unleashed on New York City this week; the rollout was made possible in part because of a grant from the New York State Energy Research and Development Authority (NYSERDA). Next year, Frito-Lay will add another 155 trucks, which it says will give the company the largest all-electric fleet in North America.
This isn't just something nice that Frito-Lay is doing, it will save the company money, according to a statement by Mike O'Connell, director of fleet capability for Frito-Lay North America: "There are real economic and environmental benefits to electric trucks. Once the planned 176 electric trucks are deployed, we will eliminate the need for 500,000 gallons of fuel annual. Each truck emits 75 percent less greenhouse gas gases than a conventional diesel truck."
The models from Smith Electric can operate at a top speed of 50 miles per hour, and they can go a range of up to 100 miles per charge. It takes six to eight hours for its lithium-ioon iron phosphate battery to "refuel" at a charging station. The Newton model to the left can carry a payload of up to 16,280. That's a lot of corn chips or snacks.
Along with New York, the first cities that will get the new Frito-Lay trucks will be Columbus, Ohio, and Fort Worth, Texas.
Meanwhile, it's worth noting that UPS just began a 90-day demonstration trial of an electric walk-in van from Electric Vehicles International. The tests are taking place in Sacramento, Calif., and San Francisco. It's worth mentioning that this particular design is eligible for a $20,000 rebate under the California Air Resource Board, which obviously makes that state a logical location for this test. The average range for these trucks is about 90 miles, with a maximum speed of 60 miles per hour.
This post was originally published on Smartplanet.com