Coca-Cola says it will roll out 185 new hybrid trucks this year, more than doubling what was already the largest commercial fleet of diesel-electric delivery vehicles in North America.
The expansion bumps the number of hybrids in Coke's motor pool to 327, a move the Environmental Protection Agency hailed as "a role model for fleets worldwide" because it will improve public health and help protect the environment. It also underscores the rising popularity of hybrid technology in the medium-duty trucking sector as companies like Purolator and Wal-Mart join Coca-Cola in adding them to their fleets.
"The era of the big dirty truck is gone," Peter Nelson, executive director of Canada's Eastern Provinces Trucking Associate, told the New Brunswick Times and Transcript. "We've seen some real changes."
John Brock, CEO of Coca-Cola Enterprises, told FoodBev expanding the diesel-electric fleet is "the right thing to do for business. And it's important because it's the right thing to do for the environment, for our planet."
The diesel-electric trucks burn 30 percent less fuel and emit 30
percent less pollution than their fossil-fuel burning counterparts. But those savings come at higher up-front costs.
Coca-Cola is adding 150 hybrid big rigs and 35 smaller 12-bay box trucks - the ones you see making deliveries to supermarkets and convenience stores - to the 142 diesel-electric trucks already in the fleet. Each tractor costs about $98,000, or about $33,000 more than a standard diesel rig, Coca-Cola says, according to GreenBiz. Despite the higher price tag, the eco-friendlier fleet will "help us capture operational efficiencies, drive innovation and effectiveness and eliminate waste while simultaneously protecting the environment," Brock said in a news release.
The soft drink company started working with Eaton, Kenworth and Cummins Engines in 2001 to develop the delivery trucks, and Eaton says Coca-Cola "was key to our test fleet." The trucks use a diesel engine coupled with an electric motor powered by a lithium-ion battery. Electricity propels the vehicles at speeds below 30 mph, making diesel-electric hybrid perfect for the constant stop-and-go traffic of urban delivery routes.
*Main photo: sillywailo / Flickr. Others: The Rocketeer / Flickr
