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Domino’s Pizza (NYSE:DPZ) has reached an agreement with General Motors (GM) to purchase hundreds of EVs.
The new purchase is aimed at attracting new drivers for the chain as labor shortages limit the overall pizza delivery industry as well as achieving stated emission reduction goals.
“Domino’s has always been on the cutting edge of pizza delivery and electric delivery cars make sense as vehicle technology continues to evolve,” CEO Russell Weiner said on Monday. “We’ve made a commitment to net-zero carbon emissions by 2050, and this is one way we can begin reducing our environmental impact, one delivery at a time.”
The Wall Street Journal indicated that the pilot program includes the purchase of 800 Domino’s-branded Chevrolet Bolt electric vehicles for 37 locations owned by the chain and hundreds more franchisees. The company said that 100 vehicles will arrive by the close of November, with the remainder due to arrive over the course of the next few months.
“Electric fleet vehicles also provide more opportunity to attract delivery drivers who don’t have a car of their own,” the pizza chain commented. “Today, Domino’s already delivers with electric bikes and/or scooters in 24 international markets, including the U.S.”
In the second quarter, the chain said that labor shortages had reached the extent that Weiner said the chain was “utilizing call centers to ease constraints” for deliveries. The measure allowed workers to both answer phones and step away from stores to deliver pizzas, according to Weiner.
“Staffing remains a constraint, but my confidence in our ability to solve many of our delivery labor challenges ourselves has grown over the past few quarters,” Weiner told analysts during an October earnings call.
