UPS to Deploy 40 Electric Hybrid Vehicles

UPS Inc. announced the deployment of 40 new electric hybrid package cars.

The vehicles’ hybrid power system combines a conventional diesel engine with a battery pack, UPS said Wednesday.

The vehicles can achieve up to 35% improved fuel economy and up to 30% reduction in CO2 emissions compared with traditional diesel-powered vehicles.

UPS said 20 of the vehicles will be used in Baltimore and 20 in Atlanta.

The Baltimore vehicles will be deployed immediately while those in Atlanta will be introduced by the end of the year, UPS said.

UPS is ranked No. 1 on the Transport Topics 100 listing of U.S. and Canadian for-hire carriers.

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Save now, pay us later: FCCC, Enova to offer electric vehicles with no initial up-charge

GAFFNEY, S.C. - Fleets looking to deploy environmentally-friendly electric delivery vehicles in their fleet can now do so without the substantial up-front cost, thanks to a new program from Freightliner Custom Chassis Corp. (FCCC) and Enova.

The Green for Free program, announced today, allows fleets in Canada and the US to purchase electric vehicles for the same price as similar diesel-powered vehicles. The fleet can then use the fuel and maintenance savings achieved over time to cover the incremental expense for the technology, the companies announced.

The program covers FCCC's all-electric walk-in van chassis powered by Enova's electric drive system. The companies say delivery fleets with set routes will be ideal candidates for the program, since they have predictable drive routes and return home each night for charging.

FCCC says it's ready to provide immediate volume, which will help drive down the costs of components such as batteries. The delivery vehicles will be deployed into "disciplined duty cycles" where they will utilize 80% of the battery daily, FCCC says. The chassis has a GVWR of 14,000-19,500 lbs.

"FCCC and Enova recognize that the Green For Free program is necessary in order to make all-electric vehicles more affordable, and therefore more accessible, to fleets," said Bob Harbin, FCCC president. "We want to help those fleets interested in reducing their energy consumption and environmental impact by enabling them to purchase more alternative-fuel vehicles at one time because of the reduced upfront costs."

The companies are touting the Green for Free program as the first that will eliminate the incremental costs associated with buying and operating all-electric vehicles, aside from those funded by government.

The companies plan to deploy 3,000 alternative fueled vehicles within a two-year period beginning no later than the third quarter of 2012 as part of the program.

"This business model has the potential to stimulate tremendous and rapid growth, helping achieve economies of scale through cost reduction, resulting in an excellent value proposition for the commercial fleet operator," said Mike Staran, Enova president and CEO. "Enova has been delivering proven electric drive systems to a diverse set of domestic and international customers and has the distinction of seeing more of its green drive systems on the road than any of its competitors. The company continues to build on more than 20 years of innovation and traces its roots back to General Motors' EV1 electric car."

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Forecasts for commercial vehicles basically unchanged: ACT report

COLUMBUS, Ind. -- ACT Research is maintaining its mildly pessimistic outlook for the US economy, according to the October issue of the ACT North American Commercial Vehicle Outlook.

"Recently released US economic data have had a better tone as evidenced by firmer October labour market data, a positive and rising third quarter real GDP, and a rising US stock market," said Sam Kahan, ACT's chief economist. "These improved figures have reinforced our contention that the onset of a US recession is not imminent."

With economic activity in line with expectation, forecasts for both medium-duty and heavy-duty vehicles remained basically unchanged for 2011 and 2012, ACT says.

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