The US American truck manufacturer Peterbilt has delivered the first units of its 220EV electric truck. Frito-Lay, a company belonging to the PepsiCo Group, is using six of its electric vehicles as part of a project in California.

Together with the vehicles just delivered to Frito-Lay, there are now 15 Peterbilt electric trucks in customer’s hands. The electric trucks are “running real routes and collecting real-world validation data,” said Jason Skoog, General Manager of Peterbilt. The electric vehicles are active in urban delivery traffic, regional transport and waste disposal.

The 220EV presented at this year’s CES is a medium-sized truck. The model has two TransPower battery packs with a total capacity of 148 kWh and is powered by a Meritor E-axle. The range is expected to be 100 miles (around 160 kilometres).

Frito-Lay was proud to be the first customer for the 220EV. “Frito-Lay is continuously exploring current and emerging technologies for our freight equipment as we work toward reducing PepsiCo’s absolute greenhouse gas emissions by 20% by 2030,” said Michael O’Connell, Vice President Supply Chain at PepsiCo. The company’s goal is to replace all existing diesel-powered freight vehicles at its site in Modesto, California, with zero-emission and low-emission vehicles. According to a press release, the project is expected to cost 30.8 million dollars.

In addition to Peterbilt’s electric trucks, Frito-Lay in Modesto will also use three of BYD’s 8Y battery-powered terminal trucks. In addition to the vehicles, the project also includes the development of infrastructure and storage systems for renewable energies.

truckinginfo.com, ccjdigital.com, pepsico.com, byd.com