Eaton Corporation, a manufacturer of hybrid power systems for commercial trucks and buses, calculates that its hybrid customers have collectively accumulated more than 100 million miles of service, thus reducing diesel fuel consumption by 4 million gallons and harmful emissions by 40,000 metric tons.
The Eaton hybrid systems reduce fuel consumption and emissions output by up to 35%, and system idle time emissions by 87%. The company reports 4,500 of its hybrid systems in use on city buses, refrigerated and standard delivery trucks, refuse and recycling trucks, and other municipality and commercial business vehicles.
FedEx, UPS, Coca-Cola Enterprises and PepsiCo are using delivery vehicles with Eaton hybrid systems, and city-bus transit fleets in Asia, Europe, the Middle East and Latin America are using Eaton hybrid power in their fleets.
UPS, for example, estimates that its order of 130 hybrid system will save 66,085 gallons of fuel and 671 metric tons of emissions annually, representing a 35 percent improvement in fuel economy.
In line with Eaton’s recent news, Pike Research releases its latest report on the increasing demand for hybrid drivetrain designs for cleaner, more fuel efficient operations. The study, “Hybrid Trucks and Buses” forecasts a heavy demand in the hybrid truck sector, increasing from just 9,000 vehicles sold in 2010 to more than 100,000 vehicles annually in 2015.
“Payback periods on hybrid drivetrains are improving for medium and heavy-duty truck classes, particularly as oil prices continue to rise,” says senior analyst Dave Hurst. “An increased focus on efficiency and regulatory compliance among fleet managers, combined with a variety of new models being introduced by truck manufacturers, will lead to substantial growth in this market over the next five years,” in the statement.
Pike Research points to five systems for medium-duty and heavy-duty vehicles: hybrid electric, plug-in hybrid electric, battery electric, mild electric power take-off (EPTO) hybrids, and hydraulic hybrids. Among these, they forecast that hybrid electric trucks will be the largest segment between now and 2015, according to the release.
