Delivery giant UPS is to roll out a fleet of all-electric delivery vehicles in California, it has confirmed.
The US parcel delivery service will begin making deliveries to customers using 100 electric vehicles from next January, it said August 25, focusing on South Coast Air Basin, San Joaquin Valley, and the Sacramento Valley.
Electric Vehicles international, the company which will make the large trucks for UPS, described the program as one of the largest single deployments of commercial all-electric vehicles in the world.
The partners believe that the new scheme will reduce fuel consumption by some 126,000 gallons every year, as well as cutting carbon dioxide emissions and noise pollution from delivery trucks.
As well as being quieter for consumers, it will mean ordering products is likely to get a lot greener, as delivery to the consumer accounts for a sizeable chunk of the emissions created during the supply chain, and increased by around three quarters if the client happens to be out when the first delivery is made.