For Class 8 trucks, hybrid engine technology is years away, but already in other medium- and heavy-duty applications, the innovation is paying off, and not just with fuel savings of 30 percent or more. Shorter downtimes, simple maintenance and mile after environmentally friendly mile for forward thinking fleets are among the bonuses for the forward-thinking fleets like UPS, FedEx and Coca Cola who’ve invested in the technology. Typically, routine maintenance involves little more than changing an air filter on the hybrid system’s air-cooled battery and checking the battery’s coolant reservoir.

Hybrid engine technology is not yet ready for Class 8 over-the-road trucks, but it is making inroads in other heavy- and medium-duty applications and appears to be performing well, both on the road and in the shop.

The technology so far has added little maintenance work to technicians’ duties, officials with FedEx Corp., UPS Inc., Coca-Cola Enterprises Inc., Florida Power & Light Co. and the New York City Department of Sanitation said in separate interviews.

Routine maintenance typically involves periodically changing an air filter on the hybrid system’s air-cooled battery and checking the battery’s coolant reservoir, with intervals depending on a company’s duty cycle.

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