UPS adds to hybrid truck fleet

The new hybrid vehicles are 10 to 15 percent more fuel efficient than previous hybrid designs and offer four times the fuel economy of a gasoline-powered vehicle.    UPS has purchased 125 new hybrid electric delivery trucks for its package fleet, the company said Wednesday.
   The new vehicles are 10 to 15 percent more fuel efficient than previous hybrid designs and offer four times the fuel economy of a gasoline-powered vehicle.
   The vehicles, which cost slightly more than a similar truck with a conventional engine, are being manufactured by Workhorse Group, Inc., a Cincinnati-based company which manufactures electric drive systems for commercial trucks and can equip them with electric engines.
   UPS said it is collaborating with Workhorse to develop a more intelligent electric vehicle that can determine when and where the batteries will be charged and re-charged. The initiative is part of UPS’s Rolling Laboratory, which is exploring uses of alternative fuel and advanced technology vehicles.
   “These trucks are designed specifically to meet the stop and start needs of UPS’s urban delivery routes,” Steve Burns, CEO of Workhorse Group, said in a statement. “They rely on a very small internal combustion engine and lithium ion battery to deliver a 50 to 60-mile per day range.”
   The hybrid trucks use the energy captured from braking to recharge the batteries.