PepsiCo’s Frito-Lay North American division is adding 20 electric trucks to its fleet in Upstate New York.
The addition of the new electric trucks will bring the total fleet number to 35 in the state, thanks to the Truck Voucher Incentive Program from the New York State Energy Research and Development Authority (NYSERDA).
Additionally, Frito-Lay said it is adding 20 charging stations for the electric tracks.
The new Frito-Lay electric trucks will have range of up to 80 miles and will operate from distribution centers located throughout New York, including in Albany, Buffalo, Rochester and New Paltz. These distribution centers will also have the advanced charging stations.
In 2010, NYSERDA provided funding for Frito-Lay’s first five electric trucks based in New York City.
Since their introduction in 2010, the initial 15 all-electric trucks in New York have already eliminated the need for an estimated 27,000 gallons of fuel and 449,550 pounds of greenhouse gases. When all 35 trucks are deployed by the end of this year, Frito-Lay expects to eliminate 63,000 gallons of fuel and nearly 1,048,950 pounds of greenhouse gases annually in the state of New York.
By the end of this year, Frito-Lay will have 269 electric trucks deployed in the U.S., making Frito-Lay the largest commercial fleet of all-electric trucks in the country. In August, Frito-Lay reached a milestone of three million all-electric miles driven.
Once all 269 electric trucks are fully deployed across the U.S., Frito-Lay expects to eliminate the need for an estimated 600,000 gallons of fuel annually.