PepsiCo Doubles Down On Electric As 75 Ford E-Transits Join Tesla Semi Trucks In Fleet

Beverage giant PepsiCo PEP announced on Tuesday it’s adding 75 Ford Motor Co.‘s F E-Transit electric vans to its fleet, alongside additional Tesla, Inc.’s TSLA Semi trucks.

What Happened: PepsiCo said it will deploy 50 Tesla Semi trucks from its Fresno, California manufacturing and distribution facility. Additionally, 75 E-Transit vans will be spread across its 13 California locations for various uses, including sales deliveries and service support.

To power the additional Semi trucks at the Fresno location, eight 750-kilowatt Tesla chargers and two Tesla Megapack Battery Energy Storage Systems have been installed. This facility distributes Pepsi, STARRY, Aquafina, and other beverage products.

Expanding its electric vehicle fleet aligns with PepsiCo’s goal of achieving net-zero emissions by 2040. The company already has some Tesla Semis and E-Transit vans in operation.

Why It Matters: Earlier this week, at the Advanced Clean Transportation Expo in Las Vegas, Tesla Semi truck engineering senior manager Dan Priestly revealed that deliveries of an additional 50 Semi trucks to PepsiCo have begun, adding to the 36 already deployed in their fleet.

While the Tesla Semi remains in pilot production at its Nevada gigafactory, a high-volume Semi factory is under construction there. The first vehicles from this factory are planned for late 2025. External customer deliveries won’t begin until 2026, as confirmed by Tesla executive Lars Moravy during the company’s first-quarter earnings call last month.

Ford’s E-Transit, in contrast, is already in full production and gaining popularity. In the first quarter of 2024, Ford sold 2,891 E-Transit vans in the United States, a year-on-year increase of 147.5%. Throughout 2023, the company sold 7,672 E-transits, representing an 18% growth over 2022.

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Photo courtesy: PepsiCo