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. Read more: Uber drivers in British Columbia win groundbreaking collective agreement Read more: AMC Robotics shines on the Nasdaq after public debut 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