UPS Planning to Launch Electric Fleet of Delivery Vehicles

By Tanuja Thombre - Last Updated on September 16, 2020

UPS has announced that it will soon start the process of manufacturing its own 50 electric delivery trucks. The company will embark on this project in collaboration with Workhorse Group Inc. These electric trucks will cost the same as the conventional vehicles, however they have a low ownership cost as they are cheaper on a per-mile basis. In due time, these electric trucks are supposed to replace their fossil fuel vehicles.

“Electric vehicle technology is rapidly improving with battery, charging and smart grid advances that allow us to specify our delivery vehicles to eliminate emissions, noise and dependence on diesel and gasoline,” Carlton Rose, UPS’ president of global fleet maintenance and engineering, said in a statement. “With our scale and real-world duty cycles, these new electric trucks will be a quantum leap forward for the purpose-built UPS delivery fleet. The all electric trucks will deliver by day and re-charge overnight.”

These electric trucks will have a charge range of approximately 100 miles with zero emission. The first batch of trucks will be tested in a few cities such as Atlanta, Dallas, and Los Angeles. The vehicle design will be adjusted for a full-scale deployment after a period of testing vehicle performance.

The delivery EVs will be delivered in 2018, UPS said. “We see this vehicle as being a game changer in the electric truck arena,” Carlton Rose told Reuters. “It’s also an industry first because the acquisition cost is comparable to gas and diesel.”

UPS has 108,000 package cars, vans, tractors, and motorcycles on road, 9,000 of these are alternative fuel vehicles. The company also has 35,000 gasoline and diesel-powered vehicles in its fleet. Apart from the conventionally fueled fleet of vehicles, the company has more than 300 electric vehicles deployed in Europe, while in US the company has 700 hybrid electric vehicles.

Last year, Tesla launched its own electric semi, and UPS has already ordered 125 of Tesla’s electric semi.

This transition from conventional fuel powered to electric vehicles by UPS is in sync with the company’s aim of environmental goals, which includes a 12 percent drop of its greenhouse gas emissions within the next seven years.

Tanuja Thombre | A Soft Skills and Behavior Trainer by passion and profession, with 8 years of experience into Mortgage Banking sector. Currently I am working as a Training Consultant and I cater to the training needs across various industries. This also allows me to interact with, train and learn various aspects of human modes. Adorned with certifications from various institutes like Dale Carnegie & Steven Covey. I have a natural instinct for writing; every once a while, a Blog, a short article and in the future I plan to author a Book. When it comes to writing, I believe there is seldom anything as appealing as Simplicity.

Tanuja Thombre | A Soft Skills and Behavior Trainer by passion and profession, with 8 years of experience into Mortgage Banking sector. Currently I am working as a...

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