MEXICO CITY — Grupo Bimbo SAB de CV will double its electric delivery vehicle fleet in Mexico from 1,168 to 2,508 by the end of 2023 as part of its goals to reduce direct and indirect carbon dioxide emissions to 50% by 2030 and become a net-zero carbon emissions company by 2050.
Grupo Bimbo said the new vehicles, which are powered by 100% renewable electricity and are slowly being incorporated into Grupo Bimbo’s operation in different Mexican cities, will stop the emission of 6,600 tonnes of carbon dioxide equivalent into the atmosphere, which is equal to planting and maintaining 250,000 trees.
The new vehicles include:
- 1,001 Veskar Stellar brand vans that have a more than 80-mile autonomy and 1.3 million-gram load capacity. Grupo Bimbo’s subsidiary Moldex designed, developed and assembled the vehicles with light materials engineering for maximum use of spaces to exclusively meet the company’s needs. The units were acquired for the company’s Bimbo and Barcel subsidiaries in September 2022.
- More than 300 JAC e10x brand vehicles that are compact enough to provide strong mobility in the city and can travel up to roughly 155 miles. They also have high safety standards.
- 15 Scania trucks for self-service delivery that feature the most advanced safety technology, including fatigue detection and lane prevention cameras, a stability control system and an emergency braking assistant. These units are exclusively for Grupo Bimbo and are the first of their kind in Latin America.
- 6 BYD brand tractors that can travel up to almost 150 miles and feature active and passive safety systems, including stability control, frontal collision warning, automatic emergency braking and side blind spot detection. All these capabilities are due to the vehicle’s advanced battery life. The brand tractors are also Grupo Bimbo’s first primary distribution electric vehicles.
Grupo Bimbo launched its first fleet of electric vehicles, which were developed by young Mexican engineers who collaborated with Moldex, in 2013. That same year, the company opened its first eco-sales center in downtown Mexico City. The facility combined all of Grupo Bimbo’s environmental care initiatives, including exclusive use of renewable electricity. More recently, the company has invested in the necessary infrastructure for loading and maintenance of these vehicles in the eco-sales centers so that they can slowly be incorporated into its operation in different Mexican cities. Grupo Bimbo currently operates 20 eco-sales centers in Mexico and will transform 15 sales centers into eco-sales centers by the end of the year.
“Doubling our fleet of electric vehicles in Mexico in one year reflects our commitment to being sustainable by design and our conviction to become a net-zero carbon emissions company by 2050,” said Jorge Zarate, vice president of global operations at Grupo Bimbo. “We know that a sustainable future is built with today’s decisions. Grupo Bimbo Mexico demonstrates its leadership by constantly investing in solutions to face the challenges and having the largest fleet of electric vehicles in Latin America.”
The expansion is part of Grupo Bimbo’s plan to strengthen its sustainability strategy pillar, For Nature, through new business models that go from mitigation to regeneration, making the company sustainable by design.
