UPS announced updates to 125 Workhorse E-GEN hybrid electric delivery trucks that extend their range and improve fuel economy as part of the company’s broader Rolling Laboratory approach.
A compact, quiet-running 650cc 2-cylinder engine replaces a prior 4-cylinder engine to extend their range, improve performance and fuel efficiency.
The updated trucks deliver significant fuel economy equivalency gains – up to four times the fuel economy of a gasoline-powered vehicle. They will be deployed in Alabama, Arizona, Georgia, Florida, Mississippi, Nevada, Ohio and Texas later this year.
The original 2015 E-GEN Drive was propelled by a 200 kW Sumo electric motor/generator with a 60 kWh pack (45 kWh usable) built with Panasonic 18650 Li-ion cells. A small 23 kW/30 hp, 2100 N·m PSI 2.4-liter internal combustion engine (ICE) served as the genset engine. The small ICE could be outfitted for gasoline, propane, or CNG.
The updated E-GEN chassis with the integrated 650 cc engine by Workhorse Group, Inc., a Cincinnati-based company, was announced by Carlton Rose, UPS Global Fleet Maintenance and Engineering president at the annual Advanced Clean Transportation Expo in Long Beach, Calif.
The trucks were purchased under UPS’s commitment to log 1 billion miles with alternative fuel and advanced technology vehicles by the end of 2017.
