Coke Canada Bottling is the first food and beverage manufacturer in Canada to announce the use of electric trucks. It is a pilot project and Quebec is the first province to test the new fleet.
The electric trucks will contribute to the company’s goal of reducing carbon emissions and supplied energy by almost half by 2030.
“We think this is one of the first big steps we can make in terms of major capital investment to make this work and I am excited because I think it really is a path to the future,” Coke Canada Bottling CEO Todd Parsons said.
The trucks can cover up to 440 kilometres on a single charge and will use company-installed electric chargers.
“We’re going to learn how to operate electric trucks in this marketplace and it’s a great market to work with electrification,” Parsons added.
Coke Canada Bottling used incentives from the province’s eco-trucking program, part of Quebec’s Green Plan to reduce greenhouse gas emissions.
The province says it’s giving priority to electrification when it’s feasible, taking into account the realities of transportation, buildings and industries.
The trucks will not only distribute product to customers across Quebec, but they will also transport product between the Lachine headquarters and the production facility in Montreal’s east end.
“We’ve always been in the logistics of transport so we are very glad to have Coke,” Lachine Borough Mayor Maja Vodonovic said.
“Everyone in Quebec that drinks Coke or Fanta or any of the 200 products that Coke makes here, well, you’re drinking the water that comes from Lachine,” she added.
Coke Canada Bottling employs 500 people between its two facilities on the island.
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