UPS upgrades hybrid package vehicles

The express carrier is installing more efficient engines in more than 100 of its hybrid electric vehicles.
PHOTO COURTESY OF UPS

   UPS has retrofitted 125 hybrid electric delivery trucks to extend their range and improve fuel economy, the express carrier and parcel giant said in a statement.
   The compact 2-cylinder engine from Workhourse Group Inc. of Cincinnati replaces a 4-cylinder engine and offers up to four times the fuel economy of a gasoline-powered vehicle, the Atlanta-based delivery company said Tuesday.
   The upgraded vehicles will begin operating in eight states later this year.
   The improvements are the result of real-world testing of the alternative fuel technology. UPS engineers closely monitoring vehicle performance in the field and lessons are shared with manufacturers, government agencies and non-profit organizations to figure out how to make advancements for the next generation technology.
   UPS’s goal is to log 1 billion miles with alternative fuel and advanced technology vehicles by the end of 2017. 
   “These low-emission trucks are designed specifically to meet the stop and start needs of UPS’s urban delivery routes, while driving unprecedented fuel and maintenance savings,” Workhorse CEO Steve Burns said. “This new system enables the vehicle to accommodate UPS’s typical route on battery energy and uses a very small internal combustion engine to add additional energy to the batteries when and if needed and eliminates range anxiety.”