Case Study: Fleet Portfolio
Case Study: FedEx – Fleet Portfolio
For more than a decade, FedEx has evaluated the right vehicle portfolio for each of its operating companies. In doing this, the company follows a three-tiered approach to improve vehicle fuel efficiency – Reduce, Replace, and Revolutionize – which allows it to help develop vehicle technologies while making the best use of the conventional vehicles.
- Reduce – optimizing routes and driving more efficiently to reduce miles on the road and vehicle emissions.
- Replace – upgrading the vehicle fleet with more efficient, advanced technology diesel vehicles.
- Revolutionize – utilizing alternative fuel vehicles, investing in the development of cleaner technologies and advocating for fuel-efficiency and greenhouse gas standards.
The Revolutionize component allows the company to engage in a variety of cross-sector and public-private collaborations to identify and pilot new technologies to improve fuel efficiency. In the past, FedEx has worked with the Environmental Defense Fund to engineer the first commercially-viable hybrid-electric vehicles for company and commercial use. This led to FedEx calling for the first-ever fuel efficiency and greenhouse gas standards for conventional commercial vehicles in the U.S. and subsequently, the passing of the Energy Independence and Security Act of 2007, which legislated fuel efficiency and greenhouse gas regulations for medium- and heavy-duty vehicles.
Today, the company is working with manufacturers to further advance the industry. Beyond vehicle testing, technological innovations include making hybrid and electric drivetrains more affordable and scalable, improving the fuel economy of conventional internal-combustion-engine vehicles and developing an infrastructure for vehicle electrification. Pilot programs include liquefied natural gas Class 8 trucks at FedEx Freight, hydraulic hybrid pick-up and delivery vehicles at FedEx Ground, and hydrogen fuel-cell baggage tow tractors at FedEx Express, along with other projects and technologies.
This case study originally appeared in The GEMI Quick Guide on Renewable and Alternative Energy.
Image: FedEx plugged is an all-electric pickup and delivery van. Source: www.invencity.org/97/ March 2, 2014
