May 14, 2008 - UPS, operator of the largest green delivery fleet in the U.S., has placed new orders for 200 hybrid electric vehicles (HEVs) and 300 compressed natural gas (CNG) vehicles. The purchase will expand the company's green fleet by 30% for a total of 2,218 low-carbon vehicles.

The 200 HEV trucks, scheduled to hit U.S. highways in 2009, will join 50 HEV delivery vehicles already in operation. UPS estimates that the new trucks will save 176,000 gallons of fuel annually and reduce CO2 emissions by 1,786 metric tons each year.

The 300 CNG trucks will be deployed later this year and join more than 800 such vehicles already in use in the U.S. CNG engines, which run on cleaner-burning natural gas, emit 20% fewer greenhouse gas emissions than diesel-fueled engines, UPS says.

"Alternative fuel research and development is just one of the ways that UPS is mitigating climate change risks," says Bob Stoffel, UPS's corporate sustainability officer. "We also are focused on aggressive conservation programs and improving network efficiency to cut fuel use."

UPS's latest green-vehicle order follows last month's deployment of 167 new CNG trucks in U.S. and Canadian markets. In February, UPS Canada added 139 cleaner-burning propane delivery trucks to its existing fleet of 600.