UPS announced Thursday that it is deploying 18 electric delivery trucks to the Houston-Galveston area in Texas.
The package delivery company bought the E-100 trucks through a partnership with the U.S. Department of Energy, local governments and non-profits, and the prototypes for the vehicles were built by Cincinnati-based Workhorse Group, according to Heavy Duty Trucking.
The Atlanta-based firm plans on saving 1.1 million gallons of diesel over 20 years with the zero emission trucks.
"The Workhorse E-100 was designed and built to meet UPS's daily duty cycle, with a range of up to 70 miles a day," Workhorse CEO Steve Burns said. "This UPS truck is designed from the ground up for local parcel delivery in high density, urban settings."
The trucks are designed to meet the "stop and go" needs of a UPS delivery truck while helping improving the air quality of the Houston-Galveston region, 3BL Media reported. UPS was able to purchase the fleet thanks to a grant from the DOE's National Energy Technology Laboratory.
The area is currently designated as a National Ambient Air Quality Non-Attainment Area since air pollution levels there keep exceeding air quality standards.
Features of the electric trucks include electric motors and rechargeable batteries that allow seamless acceleration and regenerative braking, according to 3BL Media.
"Our goal is to deploy vehicles with the least environmental impact possible in each region, consistent with local regulations and economic conditions," said Mark Wallace, senior vice president global engineering and sustainability at UPS. "Support from the DOE, local governments and the non-profit Center for Transportation and the Environment (CTE) help us to accomplish this goal. We will continue to identify opportunities to drive innovation in our fleet and the marketplace."
UPS started delivering the trucks in September, and the deliveries will continue throughout the fall, Heavy Duty Trucking reported.
The deployment is the latest move that UPS has made for its Rolling Laboratory, which consists of over 6,430 alternative fuel and advanced technology vehicles worldwide, among them being 574 electric and hybrid electric vehicles.
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