Domino’s is making its pizza a bit more green, but don’t look for extra peppers or spinach.
The chain has increased the number of Chevy Bolts it plans to add to its delivery fleet by more than 300, bringing the total to over 1,100, owing to enthusiasm from stores and franchisees.
“Back in November 2022, Domino’s announced that we’d have 800 EVs on the road by the end of 2023, and we’re excited to say that we’ve officially reached that number,” said Joe Jordan, Domino’s president of U.S. and global services in a statement. “All 800 vehicles are on the road, delivering at various stores across the country. We are even more thrilled to announce that number is growing. Our stores and franchisees have continued to express their enthusiasm and interest around EVs, and they’ve ordered an additional 300-plus cars to be on the road by the end of the year.”
Those could come in handy as the company has recently expanded its delivery range from houses and apartments to pretty much anywhere you happen to be. Domino’s pinpoint delivery feature, introduced earlier this month, allows for hyper-specific deliveries to somewhere as obscure as a park bench or the beach. Drop a pin for a pizza, basically.
The chain says it has seen several advantages in using the electric cars, beyond shrinking its environmental footprint. The battery life, it says, is sufficient for days of deliveries on one charge, and maintenance fees are lower than those for nonelectric cars. In acquiring the fleet, the company has also had more luck recruiting delivery drivers, who might not own their own vehicle.
A driver shortage has forced Domino’s to get creative in ways to persuade customers to pick up their pizza over the past 18 months. Those have ranged from offering a $3 credit for pickups to allowing people to order via Apple CarPlay.
The company’s most recent earnings report showed a slowdown in customer orders as the pandemic bump in business has ebbed. Same store sales growth showed a 0.8% decline in fiscal 2022. CEO Russell Weiner, at the time of those earnings, called Domino’s “a work-in-progress brand.”
