Brazilian brewery to convert 1/3 of delivery fleet to electric trucks

Brazilian brewery to convert 1/3 of delivery fleet to electric trucks

When Pepsi ordered 100 Tesla Semi electric trucks, and UPS ordered 125, it was pretty big news.

After all, there are very, very few electric trucks on the roads today. So early, large-scale orders could make a significant difference in kickstarting electrification in an extremely fuel hungry sector of the economy.

It's fair to say, then, that news that Brazilian brewer Ambev has placed a gigantic 1,600 electric truck order with Volkswagen should be considered as extremely significant. The move means that by 2023, 35% of Ambev's fleet will no longer have any direct tailpipe emissions—but even this impressive feat sells the announcement short. Because Ambev has also committed to charging those trucks from 100% renewable sources like wind and solar too.

I've said it before, but stories about the electrification of freight transport are particularly encouraging from where I sit. For while we really can go along way toward car-free communities, I have a hard time imagining a world where we no longer need to move stuff around. Even in a world where we do manage to reduce our consumption of material goods, and where we shift as much freight to (electrified) rail and ships as possible, I suspect trucks will still play an important role in our overall transportation system.

The sooner we can electrify them, the better.

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