FedEx rolls out electric trucks of the future
 

Just figured people around here might like to see what FedEx has been up to. Fully electric delivery trucks.

FedEx rolls out electric trucks of the future
http://dvice.com/assets_c/2010/03/Fe...x367-36323.jpg

Interesting. 100 mile range (cargo & truck).

Interesting. I'm surprised that UPS and FedEx haven't already gone series hybrid (other than a few test trucks.)

There you go... guess there are UPS diesel hybrid trucks - 6 trucks! (with 200 on order).
Diesel Hybrids Deliver Big Savings to UPS | Autopia | Wired.com

Series (serial) is brain dead from the start (like the volt ICE setup).

The link above indicates a parallel system for the ups setup.

I was always lead to believe that series hybrid was better than parallel?

Anyhooo, theyve had these for a little while in the UK, seen them around London a couple of times :)

Tried to persuade my boss to get one, but you need a 7.5 tonne license to drive on in the UK. Plus we've just started doing much longer distance work.

It is, if done right. The Volt is a poor series hybrid. A proper series hybrid truck would use solely electric propulsion to the wheels, and keep the batteries charged (and send power directly to the motors, if appropriate) with a small highly efficient diesel that always runs at its sweet spot. In delivery service, the engine could kick on at, say, 50% DOD, and off at 75%. Topping off and equalization would be handled by the grid at night.

A parallel hybrid, on the other hand, either runs the engine throughout its RPM range (reducing efficiency), or uses a complicated transmission that may not be long-lived enough in a medium duty application.

aaaaah rightyo. Must confess I havent spent much time looking at the Volt, for the basic reason I cant afford one / wouldnt buy one! :)