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The objectives of this project were to evaluate the reduction in fuel consumption and greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions made possible by hybrid technology, and to identify good driving habits with this type of vehicle. Two diesel-electric hybrid pick-up and delivery trucks and one diesel-electric hybrid utility vehicle equipped with an electric driven PTO (power take-off) system were included in the project. The first phase was the evaluation in actual operating conditions. Onboard computers were installed in the vehicles to record parameters that make it possible to determine driving habits. Based on operational data, specific duty cycles were built and track tests were conducted to measure the fuel consumption on these duty cycles. It was therefore possible to compare the hybrid trucks with other diesel trucks featuring similar characteristics. The delivery hybrid trucks showed up to 34% fuel savings during the track tests.

The objective of the project was to compare the fuel consumption of a prototype hybrid electric CNG truck with that of two trucks: a CNG truck and a diesel truck for the similar market and operating conditions. The tests were conducted on a test route representative of the conditions encountered by these vehicles in normal driving operations. The test route length was 276 km with a maximum altitude difference of 374 m. The test route had four sections, including a hilly section with a length of 88 km. The result of the comparison between the two CNG trucks was expressed as fuel savings of CNG in percentage. The fuel consumption of the diesel truck was accurately measured using the gravimetric method. The hybrid electric CNG truck showed average fuel savings of 3.6% and demonstrated up to 7.7% in savings for the entire trip compared to the CNG truck.