Dunbar Armored Inc., has rolled out the company’s (and U.S. armored car industry’s) first hybrid-electric armored truck.
The new Freightliner Business Class M2 106 Hybrid truck, which is in service in California, and is the latest addition to Dunbar’s fleet of more than 1,400 vehicles.
According to Douglas White, vice president of Fleet Maintenance for Dunbar Armored, the company expects to reduce fuel consumption while at the same time improving their carbon footprint.
“Following three years of development, Freightliner, has provided us with the best solution for our first hybrid vehicle. Our new hybrid is especially well-suited for the ‘stop-and-go’ operations which represent such a proportionally large part of our daily running time in the armored car industry” White says.
Equipped with a U.S. Environmental Protection Agency 2010-compliant engine utilizing selective catalytic reduction technology and a parallel Eaton Hybrid Electric Drivetrain System, the Dunbar truck can operate using the diesel engine alone, or work in combination with the electric hybrid motor. Eaton’s “engine off at stop” technology shuts the engine off completely when the vehicle comes to a stop and there is a “hill-hold” function to prevent the truck from rolling on grades greater than 2 percent when the driver removes his foot from the brake and steps on the accelerator.
Altogether, the Dunbar hybrid-electric truck’s features are expected to provide Dunbar with substantial fuel savings.
“Our new hybrid electric armored truck is just one more way in which Dunbar Armored is leading the armored car services industry in the implementation of new technologies,” says Kevin R. Dunbar, president and CEO of Dunbar Armored.
“Hopefully, our efforts with the hybrid-electric vehicle will set an example for the rest of industry to follow in striving to be more efficient and environmentally-conscious in delivering secure armored transportation services to safeguard cash valuables in-transit.” he adds.
