UPS Adds Next-Generation Hybrid Electric Vehicles
UPS is committed to a sustainable future, and the company’s alternative fuel vehicles play a large role in that commitment. UPS developed and continues to enhance its fleet using a “rolling laboratory” philosophy - using its alternative fuel fleet as a way to learn about how new technologies and advancements can be adapted for use in a large delivery fleet.
 UPS realizes that hybrid vehicles are a key part of its sustainable future which is why the company recently made the largest commercial order of hybrid electric delivery trucks by any company. UPS purchased 200 next-generation hybrid electric delivery trucks (HEVs) to add to its current HEV fleet of 50. The 200 vehicles will be deployed in 2009 to join the 50 trucks already in operation in Atlanta, Dallas, Houston and Phoenix. These new trucks join roughly 20,000 low-emission and alternative-fuel vehicles already in use by the company.
The HEV fleet will feature two different size vehicles from Workhorse Custom Chassis and Freightliner LLC and a hybrid power system from Eaton Corporation. The external truck bodies will be identical to the company’s other signature brown trucks, although they will feature additional script on the side identifying them as hybrid electrics.
HEV Fuel Economy
UPS is among the first to deploy next-generation HEV technology which promises a 45% increase in fuel economy over traditional UPS vehicles as well as a dramatic decrease in vehicle emissions. The 50 HEV delivery trucks collectively are expected to reduce fuel consumption by roughly 44,000 gallons over the course of a year compared to a normal diesel truck. The hybrids should also reduce CO2 gas emissions by approximately 457 metric tons annually, which protects the environment.
The trucks will operate with lithium ion batteries, which offer a faster re-charging capability and last longer than batteries used in previous generations of HEVs.
How HEV’s Work
The new hybrid power system allows UPS to use a smaller diesel engine than would be required in a conventional delivery truck, thus saving on fuel and pollution-causing emissions. A battery pack, motor/generator and power control system are added, which allows electric power to be fed into the powertrain when conditions demand it, providing further savings.
The hybrid electric vehicles also use what is known as regenerative braking, meaning the energy generated when stopping the moving vehicle is captured and returned to the battery system as electrical energy. The efficient, computer-controlled combination of clean diesel power, electric power and regenerative braking allows dramatic improvements in fuel savings and emissions reductions.
A History of HEV Innovation
UPS was the first package delivery company to introduce an HEV into daily operations with a research program it launched in early 1998. In 2001, the company deployed the industry's first hybrid electric package car into regular service in Huntsville, Ala., where the truck worked a 31-mile route with about 160 pickups and deliveries each day. In addition, that vehicle had the ability to provide more than 80 percent of the electricity needed by its sorting facility to power the conveyer system and lights. UPS then introduced its second generation HEV to its Kalamazoo, Mich., fleet in 2004.
The UPS Green Fleet
The UPS alternative fuel fleet currently includes more than 2,200 vehicles powered by compressed natural gas, liquefied natural gas, propane and electricity. UPS also has been testing hydrogen fuel cell vehicles and hydraulic hybrid technology in partnership with the Environmental Protection Agency and others. Since 2000, the UPS green fleet has traveled 144 million miles making deliveries around the world. UPS’s alternative energy trucks date back to the 1930’s when we operated a fleet of electric trucks in New York City. However, we didn’t isolate alternative fuel miles prior to 2000.
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