Printable Version Hybrid delivery fleet totals 264 and makes FedEx the Express transportation world leader in use of green technologies

FedEx has recently converted 92 standard delivery trucks into hybrid-electric versions which provide a choice of either diesel or electric power sources. The vehicles feature a diesel engine coupled to an electric motor/generator and lithium-ion batteries, allowing individual drivers to select the most efficient mode of operation to use - diesel or electric - depending upon operating conditions and circumstances.

FedEx’s unique programme, which involved the retrofit of 2000 and 2001 models with between 300,000-500,000 miles on the clock, was developed hand-in-hand with our suppliers, and marks the latest milestone in our drive to use hybrid technology in our fleet. It also demonstrates that the conversion of standard vehicles to hybrid versions is a viable, lower-cost option compared to the purchase of new hybrids, as well as extending the working life of vehicles and thereby helping to eliminate waste production. As such, our initiative makes a significant contribution to the range of green transportation choices available to the wider public in general.

FedEx is now the clear leader in the express shipping sector in the use of hybrid and other vehicles designed to reduce fuel use and minimise carbon dioxide emissions. We have more than 320 liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) and electric-powered support units in use at the Roissy Charles de Gaulle hub in Paris and other operational facilities across Europe, and amongst other initiatives we have recently introduced ten new state-of-the-art Modec electric commercial vehicles for use in the UK, as well as testing 10 Iveco hybrid vans in Italy and France. Couriers in London’s West End also deliver many of their packages on foot and bicycle.

We undertake and support all these and other similar development programmes to ensure that environmentally responsible transport concerns are always central to our strategic planning.