Hybrid trucks can have similar fuel economy to diesels

A report released this week details NREL’s efforts to determine the impact of hybridisation on performance, emissions and fuel economy.

The gHEV trucks are said to have produced substantially reduced tail-pipe emissions during all drive cycles tested in the laboratory when compared with conventional diesel vehicles.

On a drive cycle representing routes with frequent stops and accelerations, the gHEV trucks exhibited a 20 per cent improvement in fuel economy, while drive cycles representing routes with fewer stops and accelerations demonstrated similar fuel economy to the diesels.

‘We conducted this study to show how a gasoline hybrid might perform compared with a conventional diesel truck, given that gasoline engines are less efficient than diesel engines and generally not used in heavier vehicles,’ said Lee Slezak, programme manager for DOE’s advanced vehicle-testing activity.

NREL’s Fleet Test and Evaluation Team collected and analysed fuel economy, maintenance and other vehicle-performance data on three gHEV trucks and three conventional diesel trucks used by the Fedex parcel-delivery service in the Los Angeles area.