Einride, an electric and autonomous truck manufacturer, has announced a partnership with PepsiCo snack-food subsidiary, Walkers, to deploy trucks for the delivery of goods between the cities of Leicester and Coventry. 

The partnership marks Einride’s first deployment in the UK market. The company plans to achieve the goal of transporting 1.6 billion tons of goods by road freight in the UK each year.

PepsiCo plans to launch the initial rollout as a pilot over a period of three years, in order to get a better understanding of the potential role electric trucks can play in its transport operations before committing to any route expansions. PepsiCo expects the deployment to help reduce the use of fossil fuel-powered transport by 250,000 miles each year.

Analyst QuickTake: The PepsiCo partnership represents Einride’s latest stage in its market expansion in Europe. The company recently established its operations in Germany with partnerships with companies such as Electrolux and also announced plans to deploy trucks in the Benelux region (Belgium, the Netherlands, and Luxembourg) in partnership with AB InBev.