Volvo Promises Hybrid Truck Engines Within Three Years
Diesel-Electric hybrid engines for trucks and
buses will be on the road by 2009. Pay-back efficiency of 2-3
years.
Swedish lorry and bus manufacturer AB Volvo said on Friday that it had developed a hybrid diesel-electric engine for trucks and buses which could go into production by 2009. Hybrid technology, which allows vehicles to run alternately on diesel or electricity or both simultaneously, has become increasingly popular for passenger cars, but Volvo said it was the first to produce hybrid technology for heavy vehicles.
“Hybrid technology has been used for cars for five or 10 years now. The oil price, technology and the lower cost of batteries now makes it an efficient option for trucks and buses, too,” Volvo Technical Director Lars-Goeran Moberg told AFP.
“Within a few years we will show you a real vehicle that really works with hybrid technology for trucks and buses,” chief executive Leif Johansson said at a presentation.
The fuel bill for city buses, for example, could be cut by a third, which would allow operators to recoup the higher costs of buying hybrid engines within two years, he said.
Actually, a couple dozen American cities have started to move into diesel-electric hybrid buses. Including Albuquerque, just down the road from me. Unsurprising — like the Canadian buses in Albuquerque — they’re either manufactured outside the U.S. or by foreign-owned companies.
Given Volvo’s prominence in the hauler market, I expect they’ll deliver a successful product.
Posted: Mon - March 13, 2006 at 07:28 AM