FedEx Express is expanding its fleet of eco-friendly vehicles with new all-electric vans,low-weight composite vehicles while upgrading thousands of conventional vehicles to more
fuel-efficient trucks producing lower emissions.The company will double its all-electric fleet by deploying 24 new all-electric vehicles in NewYork City, Chicago and Memphis and diversifying its fleet in Los Angeles within the next two monthsbringing its total number of such vehicles to 43. In concrete terms, FedEx will add 15 NavistareStar electric vehicles, two Freightliner Custom Chassis Corporation (FCCC) eCell electric vehiclesand two FCCC electric vehicle retrofits as well as five Ford Transit Connect Electric vans. Theywill complement the current 19 all-electric vehicles deployed in Los Angeles, London and Paris.
At the same time, FedEx will be adding more hybrid-electric trucks, using composite vehicles andupgrading over a tenth of its conventional vehicle fleet to more energy-efficient vehicles.
FedEx Express is adding all-electric and hybrid-electric vehicles to dense urban routes thathave a lot of starting and stopping. This use of regenerative braking and electric motorssignificantly improves the efficiency of the vehicles on such urban routes.
“On high-mileage routes, FedEx is upgrading vehicles with 4,000 fuel-efficient, lower emittingBlueTEC clean diesel Sprinter Vans. Each Sprinter is at least 100% more fuel efficient than themost commonly found alternative it replaces,” Keshav Sondhi, manager of Asset Management for FedExExpress Global Vehicles, explained. “Different vehicles are appropriate for different routes. Thekey is to use the right truck for the mission on the right route.”
FedEx Express has also been piloting five composite vehicles from Utilimaster in Detroit,Memphis, Jackson, Tennessee, and Jonesboro. The vehicle is able to achieve 35% better fuel economythan its predecessor and has been performing well thanks to the smaller, more efficient engine andlow weight of the composite materials.
“We are using efficient technologies that are readily available now, while investing ininnovative technologies that we hope and believe can be vehicle workhorses for the future,” saidDennis Beal, vice president of Global Vehicles at FedEx Express. “Our goal has always been tooptimise and operate our vehicle fleet in an economically and environmentally sustainable manner,so that emissions are reduced while serving our customers in the best possible manner.”
