Drivers in and around Petaluma, California will have to negotiate fewer oversized UPS vehicles this holiday season. The company rolled out a small parcel delivery service in the region this week that uses 42 small electric cars and trucks manufactured by ZAP.
The UPS branch in Petaluma is the first to use electric vehicles for delivery, leasing an initial fleet of the ZAP Xebra® electric city cars and trucks.
Small parcel deliveries are becoming more challenging for the trademark big, brown UPS delivery vans, which is why UPS is using the electric city cars and trucks to handle small parcel deliveries. The ZAP vehicles lessen fuel consumption and reduce automotive emissions produced by current delivery vehicles.
“This is the missing link for small package deliveries in congested areas,” said ZAP CEO Steve Schneider. “Packages go from the airplanes, to the tractor trailers, to the delivery vans, then to the drop-off nodes. From there the ZAP trucks make the final delivery to the consumer in a zero-emission vehicle that costs less to operate. It’s a perfect example of how green technology can help corporate America’s bottom line.”
ZAP, which is based in nearby Santa Rosa, California, specializes in energy-efficient transportation technologies. The ZAP Xebra was designed as an economical electric city car that can handle city-speed driving up to 40 MPH for daily urban driving, commuting as well as light duty government and corporate fleet applications. ZAP cars and trucks are believed to be the only 40 MPH street-legal electric vehicles available in production today and sell for a little over $10,000 with a cost of about three cents per mile for electricity.
Loading...