The Bronx, New York, operation of FedEx will become the company's first to exclusively use hybrid delivery vans. The addition of 51 new delivery vehicles brings the facility's total to about 100 hybrid trucks.
After the new vehicles from Azure Dynamics Corp. are added, FedEx's hybrid fleet will total 325 vehicles, according to a press release.
Especially in a delivery area with so much stop-and-go like metropolitan New York City, hybrids make sense, said Mitch Jackson, Director of Environmental Affairs and Sustainability for FedEx.
FedEx estimates it will save 30 percent on fuel with the new vehicles.
This is but the most recent addition of hybrids to the fleet. In June, FedEx expanded its hybrid-electric delivery fleet from 172 to 264 by retrofitting 92 trucks. Those hybrids were touted as the first standard FedEx delivery trucks converted to hybrid-electric systems.
The retrofitted hybrid vehicles were placed into service in California, primarily in the Los Angeles, San Diego and San Francisco metropolitan areas.
Since being introduced in 2004, FedEx hybrids have logged more than 4 million miles, reducing fuel use by 150,000 gallons, with a corresponding 1,521 metric ton cut in emissions.
