Grupo Bimbo will double its fleet of electric vehicles in Mexico this year

Grupo Bimbo, the world’s largest baking company, has strengthened its sustainability strategy pillar, For Nature, through new business models that seek to move from mitigation to regeneration. Through these initiatives, Grupo Bimbo plans to be a sustainable company by design.

With clear goals and a vision for 2050, Grupo Bimbo is moving steadily towards becoming a company with zero net carbon emissions. It is committed to reducing its direct and indirect emissions to 50% by 2030.

In line with this ambitious goal, the company is renewing its fleet of vehicles by replacing fossil fuel units with other sustainable technologies, such as electric and hybrid vehicles. In 2013, Grupo Bimbo launched the first fleet of electric vehicles developed by young Mexican engineers, collaborators of Moldex, a subsidiary of Grupo Bimbo. That same year, it inaugurated the first eco-sales center in downtown Mexico City, where all environmental care initiatives are combined, including the exclusive use of renewable electricity. Currently, the company has 20 eco-sales centers nationwide.

Ten years after starting its path towards electromobility, and with a fleet of 1,186 electric delivery vehicles circulating in Mexico, Grupo Bimbo announces that in 2023 it will double this figure, reaching 2,508 electric vehicles in the country. These include:

• 1,001 Vekstar Stellar brand vans, with 130 km autonomy and 1,300 kg load capacity, which were designed, developed, and assembled by Moldex exclusively to meet the needs of Grupo Bimbo, using light materials engineering for maximum use of spaces. In September 2022, the company announced the acquisition of these units for Bimbo and Barcel.

• <300 vehicles, JAC e10x brand, whose compact size offers great mobility in the city and a capacity to travel up to 250 km. These units have the highest safety standards.

• 15 Scania trucks for self-service delivery. These will be the first of their kind in Latin America and will be brought exclusively for Grupo Bimbo. These units feature the most advanced technology in safety, such as fatigue detection and lane exit prevention cameras, stability control system, and emergency braking assistant.

• 6 BYD brand tractors, which will be the first primary distribution electric vehicles for Grupo Bimbo. Their safety and performance are remarkable due to their advanced battery technology. They can travel up to 240 km and feature active and passive safety systems such as stability control, frontal collision warning, automatic emergency braking, and side blind spot detection.

These units are powered by 100% renewable electricity and are gradually being incorporated into Grupo Bimbo’s operation in different cities in Mexico. To do so, the company has also invested in the infrastructure necessary for the loading and maintenance of these vehicles in the work centers. Currently, 15 sales centers are transforming into eco-sales, which will result in 35 Ceves with these sustainable characteristics in Mexico by the end of this year.

The 1,322 new electric vehicles put into circulation in the country during 2023 will prevent the emission of 6,600 tons of CO2e into the atmosphere, equivalent to planting and maintaining 250,000 trees.

Jorge Zárate, Grupo Bimbo's VP of global operations, commented: "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. 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.”