Great news! Big time fuel savings for trucks and vans aren’t just a fuzzy futuristic benefit that will someday come to be. For corporate fleets, the double-pronged benefit of being green and economical is right now, today.

The concept of using alternative fuel vehicles (AFVs) is already rewarding those companies that were first to make the switch, such as UPS, Federal Express and even the U.S. Post Office.

Now a new study of the trucking industry confirms what these early adopters have already learned: Getting out of gasoline and diesel-powered vehicles is a money winner.

It’s also a great opportunity to jump on the clean or green bandwagon before the feds force you to. The trucking industry alone accounts for 21% of total U.S. GHG emissions, so you know the pressure to make changes is building.

Duke University researchers have just quantified the benefits of the latest AFV technology — hybrid-electric powertrains for medium- and heavy-duty trucks and vans. Hybrid-electric trucks use less fuel, 300 to 700 gallons less per year, than diesel or gasoline powered trucks and create fewer carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions.

Duke estimates CO2 reductions of 3 to 8 tons per truck equipped as a hybrid electric. Hybrid technology also produces cleaner vehicles because they dramatically reduce smog and air toxic pollutants released by vehicles burning fossil fuels.

The great potential of electric-hybrid truck technologies was revealed at a promotion in Washington, DC, dubbed Hybrid Day On the Hill.

To read the Duke report, click here.

Tags: AFVs, CNG vehicles, hybrid vehicles, UPS