PepsiCo expands electric-powered fleet in CA

PepsiCo Beverages North America (PBNA) is expanding its electric-powered fleet across California. In the next several months, 50 Class 8 Tesla semi trucks will operate out of its manufacturing and distribution facility in Fresno, CA, and 75 Ford E-Transit electric vans will step-change the electrification of its equipment services fleet across the state. The electric vehicle deployment will help the company progress toward its pep+ (PepsiCo Positive) goal to reach net zero emissions by 2040, PBNA said.

“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.

PBNA’s Fresno location is a 170,000-square-foot manufacturing facility with a fleet operation that distributes PepsiCo products including Pepsi, Starry, Gatorade, Rockstar, Aquafina and more. At the facility, eight 750-kilowatt Tesla chargers and two Tesla Megapack Battery Energy Storage Systems have been installed onsite to power the electric semis.

Across all of PBNA’s 13 locations in California, PBNA said it is deploying 75 Ford E-Transit electric vans, which will serve a variety of applications, including sales deliveries and service support.

The deployment of EVs in Fresno also kicks off a job training program for students enrolled in Reedley College and Duncan Polytechnic High School. The program educating over 100 students annually focuses on developing hands-on job training in electric trucks and infrastructure maintenance.

Hitachi Astemo is developing 360-degree-camera, semi-active suspension and steer-by-wire technologies to improve electric- and autonomous-vehicle performance. The company's 360-degree stereo vision camera system provides LiDAR-like results to support autonomous driving functions at one-tenth the cost, according to Harsha Badarinarayan, Hitachi Astemo’s vice president of advanced engineering.

“While LiDAR has gained prominence in recent years, camera technology has steadily and quietly evolved to offset LiDAR’s advantages, including nighttime operation and the ability to sense the surrounding environment with greater fidelity,” Badarinarayan noted. “It’s why carmakers like Tesla are committed to camera technology.”