UPS Snaps Up Experimental Zero-Emission Vehicles
Nov. 12, 2008 - Following a successful testing phase, UPS has placed orders for 12 custom-built, zero-emission electric vans, slated for deployment in the carrier's British and German delivery fleets early next year.
The new vehicles can drive up to 100 miles on a single overnight battery charge, according to British manufacturer Modec. The vans averaged 18 miles on a quarter battery capacity during UPS's nine-month trial on London streets.
Six of the 12 vehicles will operate out of UPS’s packaging facility in Camden, which lies within London’s Low Emission Zone. The zero-emission vehicles will be exempt from city inspections and road taxes.
The remaining six will join UPS's delivery fleet in Germany.
UPS currently operates the transportation industry’s largest private fleet of alternative fuel vehicles. In April, UPS deployed 167 new compressed natural gas (CNG) vehicles in cities throughout the U.S. It added another 500 hybrid-electric and CNG vehicles to the fleet a month later. Last month, the carrier announced the successful trial and purchase of a fleet of hydraulic hybrid vehicles for its U.S. fleet./p>
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