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Big Brown Goes Hybrid

February 24, 2006

UPS • Damaged goods, claims problems • Lost shipments • "Lost" computers • Phantom delivery attempts • Billing Problems • Small business nightmares • "Lost" or damaged artwork and jewelry --- News • Big Brown Goes Hybrid

United Parcel Service is buying 50 hybrid electric delivery vehicles along with 4,100 low-emission vehicles this year as part of an effort to cut fuel costs.

UPS says each of the 50 hybrid electric vehicles will look the same as traditional UPS trucks but will save roughly 44,000 gallons of fuel a year. The trucks will feature lithium ion batteries that are capable of faster re-charging and have a longer life than batteries used in previous generations of hybrids.

The low-emission UPS trucks will be about 15 percent more fuel-efficient.

UPS has a global fleet of around 91,000 vehicles.The UPS alternative fuel fleet - at 1,500 vehicles one of the largest in the United States - currently includes trucks powered by compressed natural gas, liquefied natural gas, propane, electricity and hydrogen. Research also is underway with the Environmental Protection Agency on a hydraulic hybrid drivetrain.

No one at UPS will say how much the company is spending on the new trucks but hybrids generally cost twice as much as ordinary trucks.

The hybrids will reduce UPS’ emissions by 457 metric tons of carbon dioxide per year.

Robert Hall, UPS’s fleet environmental manager, said the trucks are "part of a multifaceted strategy to reduce fuel dependency, cut greenhouse emissions and in the long run, reduce operating costs."

The UPS hybrids will be produced by International Truck and Engine, which is the primary operating subsidiary of Navistar International, and Freightliner LLC. The majority of the low-emission vehicles will be made by Freightliner LLC.

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