Energy Efficiency, Commercial, Sourcing Renewables  -  August 2, 2018

UPS partners on electric delivery truck

UPS announced a collaboration with Thor Trucks, Inc., to develop and test a fully-electric medium-duty delivery truck in Los Angeles. The truck, which will have a driving range of approximately 100 miles powered by a Thor-designed and built battery, is expected to be ready for deployment later this year.

"UPS believes in the future of commercial electric vehicles. We want to support the research needed to make advances and the companies developing those innovative products," said Carlton Rose, president, global fleet maintenance and engineering for UPS in a statement. "Performance is critical in our fleet. We are excited to get this vehicle on the road to test how it handles routes in and around Los Angeles."

The truck will be tested for six months as part of the UPS fleet. Testing will include off-road evaluation to address durability, battery capacity, technical integration, engineering and any items found during on-road testing. Depending on the success of the deployment, UPS may make additional purchases of the electric vehicle.

UPS continues to expand its use of electric vehicles and works with a wide array of manufacturers including ARRIVAL, Daimler, Tesla, Thor, Workhorse, and others. Using its "Rolling Laboratory" approach, UPS deploys about 9,300 low-emission vehicles to determine which technology works best in each route configuration. This includes all-electric, hybrid electric, hydraulic hybrid, ethanol, compressed natural gas (CNG), liquefied natural gas (LNG) and propane.