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UPS is working on a fleet of 50 custom-built electric delivery trucks

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Re: UPS is working on a fleet of 50 custom-built electric delivery trucks

#2
Germany’s Post Office built and used ~2,000 custom-built electric delivery trucks in 2016 and deployed ~10.000 per year since 2017.

UPS’s 50 seems very low for 2018 in comparison.

One article about them: https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2017-03-24/even-germ... They are called StreetScooter https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/StreetScooter

Re: UPS is working on a fleet of 50 custom-built electric delivery trucks

#4
post #2

Germany’s Post Office built and used ~2,000 custom-built electric delivery trucks in 2016 and deployed ~10.000 per year since 2017. UPS’s 50 seems very low for 2018 in comparison. One article about them: https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2017-03-24/even-germ... They are called StreetScooter https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/StreetScooter

This is a pilot run of 50. Think of them as prototypes. They will use what they learn from these prototypes to build a larger fleet. If they can make these purchase price competitive with their current trucks it will be a huge win.

Re: UPS is working on a fleet of 50 custom-built electric delivery trucks

#7
post #3

Regeneration makes sense for frequent starts and stops, though delivery drivers often drive pretty aggressively, so I wonder if they will really get 100 miles range with inefficient driving?

Regen cancells some (most?) of "aggressive driving" leaving speed (i.e. wind resistance) as the major killer of range. If they're deployed in thick urban areas that might not be an issue.

Re: UPS is working on a fleet of 50 custom-built electric delivery trucks

#8
Rural American mail trucks are being replaced with barely-running junk minivans or really whatever can be purchased for the cheapest possible amount, probably the lease emission-aware solution I can think of. I’m not sure if these are workers providing their own transportation on contract or what, but I have seen some very sketchy vehicles delivering mail in multiple states around the US lately.

Re: UPS is working on a fleet of 50 custom-built electric delivery trucks

#9
post #5

In The Netherlands, DHL uses bikes : http://www.dhl.com/en/press/releases/releases_2014/express/d... I absolutely hate DHL as a recipient in NL, but this is pretty cool. They have other green vehicles too ( gas, electric ).

how is gas green?

Re: UPS is working on a fleet of 50 custom-built electric delivery trucks

#10
post #3

Regeneration makes sense for frequent starts and stops, though delivery drivers often drive pretty aggressively, so I wonder if they will really get 100 miles range with inefficient driving?

Regen cancells some (most?) of "aggressive driving" leaving speed (i.e. wind resistance) as the major killer of range. If they're deployed in thick urban areas that might not be an issue.

With aggressive driving, it's very easy to move braking loads into the friction brakes, making a 100% loss. Even when you cycle energy out of the battery and back in via regen, there are losses (to heat).

Driving carefully in my LEAF, I can get 4.2-4.5 miles per kWh. Driving like an ass, it's easy to get that figure down under 2.

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