PepsiCo Beverages North America (PBNA) is expanding its electric fleet across California with the addition of fifty Class 8 Tesla Semi trucks at its manufacturing and distribution facility in Fresno over the coming months.
The 170,000-square-foot facility in Fresno manufactures and distributes a range of PepsiCo products including Pepsi, STARRY, Gatorade, Rockstar, and Aquafina, among others.
PBNA has installed eight 750-kilowatt Tesla chargers and two Tesla Megapack Battery Energy Storage Systems to power the vehicles.
The company will also add 75 Ford E-Transit electric vans across all of its 13 locations in California. It will support a variety of applications, including sales deliveries and service support.
"Our fleet electrification is an important part of our pep+ (PepsiCo Positive) strategy and illustrates how sustainability is a core business strategy at PepsiCo— good for the planet, good for our business, and good for the communities we serve," said John Dean, president for PepsiCo Beverages North America, West Division.
Students enrolled in Reedley College and Duncan Polytechnic High School can also join a job training programme, focusing on developing hands-on job training in the field of electric trucks and infrastructure maintenance, the company added.
Electric Vehicles
PepsiCo's participation in the North American Council for Freight Efficiency's (NACFE) 2023 Run on Less Electric Depot demonstrated the ability to seamlessly integrate electrified Semis into PBNA's business through the Tesla Semis operating out of PBNA's Sacramento facility, the company noted.
Frito-Lay North America (FLNA) operates a fleet of Tesla Semis out of their Modesto, California facility, while FLNA's Queens, New York, facility participated in NACFE's 2023 Run on Less with a fleet of Ford E-Transits.
The expansion of PBNA's electric fleet is supported by a grant provided by the California Air Resources Board, the San Joaquin Valley Air Pollution Control District, and the California Energy Commission as part of their California Climate Investments.
The investments seek to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, strengthen the economy, and improve public health and the environment — particularly in disadvantaged communities.
