An article in Post & Parcel says the shipping and logistics company UPS has introduced a new line of range-extended electric vehicles (REEVs) to its fleets in Birmingham and Southampton, to overcome the limitations of pure electric vehicles.

Luke Wake, director of automotive engineering and advanced technology at UPS International (www.ups.com), said: “This is a big breakthrough for our continued use of electric vehicles in the UK.

“The increase in range from 100km to 400km is the result of out latest collaboration with e-truck manufacturer TEVVA. We can serve our customers with lower-emission alternatively fuelled vehicles in places beyond the reach of our pure electric vehicles.

"Since 2009, UPS has invested more than $1 billion globally in alternative-fuel and advanced-technology vehicles and fuelling stations.”

Richard Lidstone-Scott, commercial director of TEVVA Motors Ltd (www.tevva.com), said: “Commercial vehicles account for 27% of transport-related CO2 and 5% of total greenhouse-gas emissions on Europe’s roads. EU legislation says that this needs to be cut by 15% by 2025 and 30% by 2030.

“This means that the electrification of the medium-duty truck sector is inevitable, yet many firms and OEMs are still scratching their heads about how and when to make it happen.

"At TEVVA, we already have viable technology — proven in real-world trials — that can help companies like UPS reduce their emissions to almost zero without compromising their business-critical ability to carry full payloads.”

The REEVs use ‘geofencing technology’ to automatically switch to pure electric mode when reaching a predetermined boundary; this same technology allows the vehicle to switch to the on-board Range Extender, which uses a small and efficient diesel engine to recharge the battery — such as on the motorway connecting neighbouring towns and cities or to make a journey back to the UPS depot.