PepsiCo Inc. (NASDAQ: PEP) has expanded its use of autonomous freight vehicles in the United States through a multi-year partnership with Gatik AI, deploying dozens of driverless box trucks across three states to move food and beverage products through its supply chain.
The companies said on Wednesday that the agreement represents the largest commercial autonomous freight deployment to date. Gatik’s driverless trucks now operate in Texas, Arizona and Arkansas, transporting PepsiCo products between manufacturing plants, distribution centres and retail locations.
A total of 41 autonomous Isuzu-branded box trucks currently serve PepsiCo routes. According to the Wall Street Journal, 35 of the vehicles operate in Arizona, while Texas hosts five and Arkansas has one.
The trucks move products such as soft drinks and snack foods, including popular brands like Doritos. Consequently, some products arriving at local warehouses may have travelled part of their journey in a fully autonomous vehicle.
Gatik designed the vehicles for short and medium-haul routes with limited stops. Additionally, the company focuses on repetitive delivery runs where its systems can continuously improve through repeated operation on the same roads.
Jim Farrell, PepsiCo’s senior vice president of supply chain, told the Wall Street Journal that many of the company’s autonomous routes are highly repeatable. He said the trucks become more capable over time as they gather additional driving experience and operational data.
Some vehicles transport goods from production facilities to warehouses. Meanwhile, others deliver products from warehouses directly to stores, where PepsiCo employees receive and unload shipments.
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Reliability is a key advantage
The autonomous trucks use conventional combustion engines rather than electric powertrains. Additionally, each vehicle carries multiple cameras, radar systems and lidar sensors that help it detect surrounding traffic, road conditions and obstacles.
Inside the cab, the trucks retain familiar features such as steering wheels and air conditioning systems. However, Gatik has added three large screens that display camera feeds and information from the vehicle’s computer-vision platform.
Supporters of autonomous freight technology point to reliability as a key advantage. Furthermore, driverless vehicles can continue operating during periods when companies struggle to hire enough qualified drivers.
According to Gatik, the PepsiCo autonomous fleet has achieved an on-time delivery rate exceeding 98 per cent. The company said that level of consistency can help maintain product availability during labour shortages.
The partnership marks another step in the growing use of autonomous vehicles within commercial logistics networks across North America.
The broader autonomous trucking industry has gained momentum as major retailers, manufacturers and logistics providers look for ways to improve delivery reliability and address persistent driver shortages. Additionally, companies such as Walmart (NASDAQ: WMT) have already used Gatik’s autonomous trucks for middle-mile deliveries between distribution centres and retail stores, demonstrating the technology’s potential in repetitive supply chain routes.
Meanwhile, firms including Aurora Innovation and Kodiak AI (NASDAQ: KDK) have focused on longer highway freight routes. It moves commercial loads for logistics and transportation partners in Texas and other states. These deployments target routes that remain largely unchanged from trip to trip. Furthermore, this allows autonomous systems to gather data and refine performance over time.
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