Environmental Leader

UPS announced that it is expanding its green fleets in the UK and Germany after nine months of successful trials. The company placed orders for 12 custom-built electric vehicles, and will deploy them in the two countries in early 2009.

The vehicles were developed by British manufacturer Modec and will operate out of UPS’ Camden facility. During the vehicle’s trial period, it averaged 18 miles per day and a battery consumption of 25 percent of full charge per day. Modec says each zero-emission van can undertake 100 miles on one overnight charge, with batteries in future models set to increase the range to 150 miles per two to three hour charge.

In October, UPS placed orders for seven hydraulic hybrid vehicles and touted that it is the first in the industry to do so.

In May, UPS expanded its U.S. green fleet from 50 hybrid electric trucks to 250 (the largest commercial order of such trucks by any company), and increased its fleet of vehicles running on compressed natural gas from 800 to 1,100. In March, UPS added 167 CNG delivery vehicles to its fleets in Texas, Georgia and California.