UPS Deploys 200 Hybrid Electric Vehicles

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UPS announced its fleet of alternative-fuel vehicles has expanded with the deployment of 200 next-generation hybrid electric delivery trucks in eight U.S. cities.

The 200 new hybrid electric vehicles (HEVs) join roughly 20,000 low-emission and alternative-fuel vehicles already in use and have been deployed in Austin, Houston, Philadelphia, Chicago, Washington, D.C., Long Island, Minneapolis, and Louisville. Before this latest deployment, UPS was operating 50 hybrid electrics in Atlanta, Dallas, Houston, and Phoenix.

"We're proud of this large HEV deployment to major cities in the United States," said Bob Stoffel, UPS Senior Vice President of Supply Chain, Strategy, Engineering and Sustainability. "This technology, where properly used, can yield a 35 percent fuel savings, the equivalent of 100 conventional UPS delivery vehicles."

The 200 new HEV delivery trucks are expected to reduce fuel consumption by roughly 176,000 gallons over the course of a year compared to an equivalent number of traditional diesel trucks. The hybrids also should reduce by 1,786 metric tons the amount of carbon dioxide gases released annually into the atmosphere.

The HEV fleet features vehicles from Freightliner Custom Chassis Corporation and a hybrid drive system from Eaton Corporation. The external truck bodies are identical to UPS's other signature brown trucks, although they feature additional labeling identifying them as hybrid electrics. The UPS alternative fuel fleet is a diverse one with multiple technologies, including compressed natural gas, liquefied natural gas, propane, electricity, and hydraulic hybrid technology. Since 2000, the alternative fuel fleet has traveled more than 165 million miles.

UPS was the first package delivery company to introduce a hybrid electric vehicle into daily operation with a research program in early 1998. In 2001, the company deployed the industry's first hybrid electric delivery truck into regular service in Huntsville, Alabama, where the truck worked a 31-mile route with about 160 pickups and deliveries each day. UPS then introduced its second generation HEV in Kalamazoo, Michigan, in 2004, while at the same time testing its first hydrogen fuel cell delivery truck in regular service.

While continuing to develop its alternative fuel fleet – UPS has invested more than $15 million in the effort – the company also has purchased and is operating more than 20,000 low emission conventional vehicles. These vehicles have regular gas- and diesel-powered engines but employ the very latest technology and manufacturing techniques to reduce emissions as much as possible.

"The wide variety of technologies in our green fleet is indicative of UPS's 'rolling laboratory' philosophy to energy efficiency and reduced fuel consumption," Stoffel said. "Our goal is to reduce dependence on fossil fuels, but there is no silver bullet technology to achieve this. This dependence will rely on a multi-modal approach."