NACFE Electric Depot fleets share hopes, concerns

Wait…electric trucks really do exist outside California?

Yes, just ask Adam Buttgenbach, director of fleet engineering and sustainability at PepsiCo, who has been busy deploying electric trucks in Queens, New York.

PepsiCo is one of eight fleets participating in the North American Council for Freight Efficiency’s (NACFE) 2023 Run on Less Electric Depot. Buttgenbach joined other sustainability executives from those fleets Wednesday at a NACFE presentation in Anaheim, California, to provide some feedback and insights into placing electric trucks within fleets long dominated by diesel.

When asked what he looked forward to the most concerning this year’s Electric Depot, Buttgenbach was quick to answer with a response that evoked some chuckles from the audience in the Marriot conference room that this past week has been part of a record turnout at the nearby Advanced Clean Transportation Expo.

“So, a couple things…number one is that EVs do exist outside of California, believe it or not,” said Buttgenback who represents the only EV fleet in this year's Electric Depot outside California. “But then also that we're ready to scale in certain applications. So really showing that we can go now from those initial pilot trucks that we showed two years ago in [NACFE’s 2021 demonstration] to going up to 15 and then, hopefully for us, our largest 100% electrified site. And then also how that's a part of our broader strategy of deploying over 700 electric vehicles this year [across the PepsiCo fleet].”

The 2023 Advanced Clean Transportation Expo in Anaheim, California.Tom QuimbyMike Gallagher, director of maintenance and procurement at Performance Team in Los Angeles, who joined Buttgenbach on the panel, said he’s most looking forward to new lessons in fleet electrification with this year’s Electric Depot. However, he noted that the challenging learning curve to zero emissions is best served by a spirit of cooperation.