FedEx Express Orders 51 Azure Dynamics Hybrid Electric Delivery Vans, Establishes First All-Hybrid Facility

9 November 2009

FedEx Express, a subsidiary of FedEx Corp., will purchase 51 additional gasoline-electric hybrid vehicles from Azure Dynamics Corporation. The FedEx fleet of hybrid electric and electric vehicles will total 325 when all 51 hybrid step-vans are delivered during November and December of 2009.

Most of the new FedEx gasoline-electric vehicles will be put into service at a Bronx, NY, station, making it the first FedEx all-hybrid facility with about 100 trucks.

With electric-launch assist, engine-off at idle, and regenerative braking, the FedEx Azure gasoline-electric step-vans are well-suited for the tough start-and-stop conditions endured in the everyday traffic. FedEx expects a fuel efficiency improvement of 30% while also reducing its carbon footprint.

Twenty FedEx Azure Balance Hybrid Electric gasoline step-vans are already in service across the FedEx Express delivery network in California. Overall, FedEx currently operates 274 hybrid electric and electric vehicles around the globe, and 1,780 alternative fuel vehicles and equipment. The addition of these 51 vehicles takes FedEx to a total of 325 hybrid electric and electric vehicles, and more than 1,800 alternative fuel vehicles and equipment.

The FedEx hybrid fleet has logged more than four million miles of revenue service since being introduced in 2004, reducing fuel use by 150,000 gallons and carbon dioxide emissions by 1,521 metric tons.

The new purchase marks the third advancement in FedEx’s alternative vehicle fleet in recent months. In June 2009, FedEx converted 92 existing trucks to hybrid-electrics in its delivery fleet—the first of its standard FedEx delivery trucks retrofitted to hybrid-electric systems. In late August, FedEx completed the rollout of ten new state-of-the-art electric commercial vehicles for use in the UK.

With zero tailpipe emissions, the FedEx electric vehicles will save around 11 tons of CO2 a year compared to a similar-weight diesel vehicle.

The New York State Energy Research and Development Authority (NYSERDA) plans to provide a grant to FedEx for the Azure hybrids. NYSERDA, in part, aims to maintain momentum for the State’s efforts to develop competitive markets for energy efficiency.