In order to foster the use of clean energy and reduce CO2 emissions into the environment, VíasChile added 30 100% electric pick-ups to its fleet, assigned to maintenance and conservation of Autopista Central, Rutas del Pacífico, Autopista Los Libertadores and Autopista Los Andes.
With this change, the carbon footprint of VíasChile will be reduced by 188 tons of CO2, equal to the emissions that would be captured by 1,100 trees in a year.
These new vehicles, in operation since August 2022, do not emit any contaminating gases while they are running. They are silent, which avoids noise pollution, they consume less energy, and they reduce the handling of hazardous waste.
According to María Pía Tejos, Corporate Affairs and Sustainability Manager of VíasChile, “our goal is to continue operating the tolls road of the VíasChile Group from an increasingly more sustainable and environmentally friendly approach. So, we are orienting all our actions to reducing the impact on the natural environmental, especially on the communities where we operate.”
In this respect, with the change to electric pick-ups, VíasChile is meeting three Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and helping to combat climate change and its adverse effects because it is caring for air quality, managing waste, and making the use of natural resources more efficient.
The new Voltera pick-ups, model Rich 6 EV, stand out for their 4×2 capacity, a fully electric system and travel distance of a maximum of 400 kms without having to recharge. They use a 67 kWH lithium battery and have a 120 kW engine (164 HP) and a torque of 420 Nm.
VíasChile currently has four recharging stations in San Bernardo, Lo Prado, Quillota and Colina. It will soon add three more: a second station in San Bernardo, one at the Southern Arterial Toll Road and one in Panquehue.