UPS has shared the first images of an electric, pedal-powered delivery vehicle being piloted in New York. The delivery vehicles called eQuads have previously been launched in London and other cities and will be used elsewhere in the future.
eQuads is only 84 cm wide,
which makes it possible to use bicycle lanes in congested cities. The eQuads
are 3 m long and have a carrying capacity of 210 kg. The
eQuads have a range of up to 60 km on a single charge and can reach
speeds of up to 25 km/h. eQuads is seen as a delivery solution for
congested cities where congestion slows down full-size UPS trucks. Using an
electric powertrain makes it ideal for emission-free zones. eQuads is seen as
part of UPS’s goal of achieving carbon neutrality by 2050.
UPS was founded over 100 years ago as a
bicycle messaging service. UPS says that the eQuad shows that the company is
growing. Other shipping companies are also innovating the same. Its competitor,
FedEx, is also using a similar vehicle and plans to become carbon neutral by
2040.
