Hybrid Electric Vehicles - Vehicle Types - Trucks

Trucks

In 2003, GM introduced a hybrid diesel-electric military (light) truck, equipped with a diesel electric and a fuel cell auxiliary power unit. Hybrid electric light trucks were introduced in 2004 by Mercedes Benz (Sprinter) and Micro-Vett SPA (Daily Bimodale). International Truck and Engine Corp. and Eaton Corp. have been selected to manufacture diesel-electric hybrid trucks for a US pilot program serving the utility industry in 2004. In mid 2005 Isuzu introduced the Elf Diesel Hybrid Truck on the Japanese Market. They claim that approximately 300 vehicles, mostly route buses are using Hinos HIMR (Hybrid Inverter Controlled Motor & Retarder) system. In 2007, high petroleum price means a hard sell for hybrid trucks and appears the first U.S. production hybrid truck (International DuraStar Hybrid).

Other vehicles are:

  • Big mining machines like the Liebherr T 282B dump truck or Keaton Vandersteen LeTourneau L-2350 wheel loader are powered that way. Also there was several models of BelAZ (7530 and 7560 series) in USSR (now in Belarus) since the middle of 1970th.
  • NASA's huge Crawler-Transporters are diesel-electric.
  • Mitsubishi Fuso Canter Eco Hybrid is a diesel-electric commercial truck.
  • Azure Dynamics Balance Hybrid Electric is a gasonline-hybrid electric medium dutry truck based on the Ford E-450 chassis.
  • Hino Motors (a Toyota subsidiary) has the world's first production hybrid electric truck in Australia (110 kW/150 hp diesel engine plus a 23 kW/31 hp electric motor).

Other hybrid petroleum-electric truck makers are DAF Trucks, MAN AG with MAN TGL Series, Nissan Motors and Renault Trucks with Renault Puncher.

Hybrid electric truck technology and powertrain maker: ZF Friedrichshafen.

By a voice vote, the United States House of Representatives approved the Heavy Duty Hybrid Vehicle Research, Development, and Demonstration Act of 2009 ( for heavy duty plug-in hybrid vehicles) authored by representative James Sensenbrenner.

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