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Business

UPS to buy 150 plastic vehicles

By Arielle Kass
June 25, 2012

UPS has ordered 150 thermoplastic vehicles to replace some of its aluminum trucks, expanding a five-car pilot program that concluded in April.

The Sandy Springs company said the lighter-weight vehicles are still being tested, but that the five in the field showed fuel savings of 40 percent in a year compared to a traditional package vehicle. The vehicles weigh roughly 900 lbs. less than traditional vehicles.

UPS spokeswoman Lynnette McIntire would not disclose the cost of the composite vehicles, as they are called, but said they were roughly the same as their traditional counterparts.

McIntire said the vehicles are still being tweaked, and UPS will also continue experimenting with alternative fuels. The composite cars run on diesel.

About the Author

Arielle Kass covers Gwinnett County for The Atlanta Journal-Constitution. She started at the paper in 2010, and has covered business and local government beats around metro Atlanta. Arielle is a graduate of Emory University.

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