Big Brown goes green: UPS to build its own electric delivery fleet

By Ronan Glon February 23, 2018

UPS plug-in truck artist rendering — Image used with permission by copyright holder

In a few short years, you might not hear the low rumble of a UPS truck as it approaches your driveway to drop off a parcel. The American delivery company has joined forces with a startup named Workhorse to design, build, and test a delivery van powered exclusively by electricity.

“With our scale and real-world duty cycles, these new electric trucks will be quantum leap forward for the purpose-built UPS delivery fleet. The all-electric trucks will deliver by day and re-charge overnight,” explained Carlton Rose, the president of UPS’s global fleet maintenance and engineering department. He added the van will offer about 100 miles of range in real-world driving conditions. That doesn’t sound like much, not when companies like Tesla and Porsche promise long-range models that can drive over 300 miles, but it’s more than enough for a vehicle that spends a majority of its time in urban areas.

Recommended Videos

UPS expects switching to battery power will come with numerous advantages. The truck (which looks Sprinter-sized) is expected to provide 400 percent better fuel economy than the diesel-powered model it will replace, so the company will save a considerable amount of money on fuel. An electric motor requires less maintenance than an internal combustion engine, too. UPS will never again have to buy routine maintenance items like glow plugs and oil filters.

Workhorse and UPS will start by launching a pilot program made of 50 trucks. We don’t know what they’ll look yet but don’t expect a design breakthrough; this is a UPS truck, not an Italian sports sedan. Drivers will test them in real-world conditions on urban routes scattered across the country in cities like Dallas, Atlanta, and Los Angeles. The feedback gathered during the program will help engineers improve the technology.

The two partners will begin ramping up production next year. Neither of them wants to speak about volume yet, but UPS points out it currently operates approximately 35,000 gasoline- or diesel-powered vans comparable in size to the electric model it’s developing. Executives hope to make battery-powered models the standard selection when appropriate.

Electric cars get a lot of attention these days, but the electric van segment is becoming equally crowded. Volkswagen announced plans to introduce a battery-powered delivery van inspired by the I.D. Buzz concept in the coming years, and Mercedes-Benz developed the latest Sprinter with electrification in mind. Don’t be surprised to see other major van manufacturers (like Ford and Ram) leap into the segment in the coming years.

Topics

Contributor

Ronan Glon is an American automotive and tech journalist based in southern France. As a long-time contributor to Digital…

Cars

Ford could build its next Mustang-inspired electric car on Volkswagen bones

Ford Mustang Mach E front view

Ford is eager to capitalize on the Mustang Mach-E's popularity by releasing a smaller, more affordable model in the coming years. While development work is on-going, company sources hinted the yet-unnamed car will use Volkswagen parts.

Decision-makers on both sides of the Atlantic are already plotting ways to expand the Mustang family beyond the well-known two-door model and the aforementioned Mach-E crossover, according to Murat Gueler, Ford's chief designer. "Yes, we have already talked about expansion, to some sort of family," he confirmed to British magazine Auto Express.

Cars

Scout Traveler and Scout Terra forge a new path for EVs

Scout Traveler and Scout Terra.

Electric vehicles are inseparable from newness, whether it’s new tech, new designs, or new companies like Rivian, Lucid, and Tesla. But the Volkswagen Group’s new EV-only brand also relies heavily on the past.

Unveiled Thursday, the Scout Traveler electric SUV and Scout Terra electric pickup truck are modern interpretations of the classic International Harvester Scout. Manufactured from 1961 to 1980, the original Scout helped popularize the idea of the rugged, off-road-capable utility vehicle, setting the stage for modern SUVs.

Cars

Robotaxi aside, a $25,000 EV would be pointless, Tesla CEO says

Blue Tesla Model 3 Highland on the road

Enthusiasts expecting to one day put their hands on the steering wheel of a $25,000 Tesla EV may feel like they’ve been taken for a ride.
CEO Elon Musk has just put a serious damper on those expectations, saying that outside of the driverless Robotaxi recently unveiled by Tesla, a regular $25,000 model would be “pointless” and “silly.”
During a conference call with investors, Musk was asked to clarify whether such a model was in the works.
"Basically, having a regular $25K model is pointless,” Musk said. “It would be silly. It would be completely at odds with what we believe." Tesla, Musk continued, has “been very clear that the future is autonomous.”
On October 10, Tesla unveiled its much-awaited robotaxi, called the Cybercab, an autonomous-driving EV with no steering wheel or pedals. The company also unveiled the Robovan, a much larger autonomous vehicle expected to carry people or goods.
The automaker said the Cybercab is expected to be produced in 2026 and cost $30,000. Musk, meanwhile, said that it would be a $25,000 car without specifying if that price tag included federal tax credits.
Tesla’s ambiguity about an affordable entry-level model has been going on for years. In 2020, Musk signaled that a $25,000 Tesla would arrive within three years. It was later reported that Tesla had ditched the idea, instead favoring the development of a robotaxi.
Language within Tesla’s latest financial report still hints that new affordable Tesla models are on the way. But Musk’s latest comments are putting a floor on just how affordable these would be. So far, Tesla’s Model 3 Rear-Wheel-Drive remains the company’s cheapest model, with a base price of $38,990.
Some rival EV makers, meanwhile, are entering the affordable space more aggressively in the U.S.
General Motors has already put out its Chevy Equinox EV at a price of $27,500, including federal tax credits. Volkswagen America says it plans to release an under-$35,000 EV in the U.S. by 2027.