- Company honored for creating the largest private fleet of compressed natural gas-powered heavy-duty vehicles in the state of Michigan
- Detroit terminal’s 179 Class 8 tractors all transitioned from diesel to CNG in late 2015
- Initiative aims to reduce CO2 emissions by more than 16,000 tons and fuel costs by about 35 percent per year
Natural Gas Vehicles for America presented FCA US LLC the 2016 NGV Achievement Award, celebrating the Company’s $40 million investment to changeover all 179 Detroit-based parts-haulers to run on compressed natural gas (CNG) rather than traditional diesel. The move gave FCA US the largest private fleet of CNG-powered heavy-duty vehicles in the state of Michigan.
The NGV Achievement Awards recognize national innovators and early adopters for their outstanding leadership, vision and innovation to advance natural gas as a vehicular fuel. The award ceremony was held Wednesday, May 4, at the 2016 Advanced Clean Transportation Expo in Southern California.
“FCA US is constantly looking for ways to break new ground and improve our sustainability,” said Steve Beahm, Senior Vice President – Supply Chain Management, FCA – North America. “To make this bold move, we conducted more than two years of research and planning, executed an extensive pilot program with CNG trucks and provided more than 6,000 hours of training to our drivers and skilled trades people. We look forward to seeing how other companies embrace CNG to transform their fleets.”
FCA Transport’s Detroit Terminal, built in 1965, is located on Lynch Road in Detroit, just across from the Detroit City Airport. The Company spent $1.8 million to enable the 36,000-square-foot maintenance facility to handle the new CNG-powered fleet. The $5 million on-site CNG fueling station, designed and built by TruStar Energy, is the largest private CNG station in North America.
“FCA US is now among an elite group of national fleets who have taken an ambitious step to reduce dependence on foreign oil while reducing their operating costs,” said Matthew Godlewski, President, Natural Gas Vehicles for America. “As the nation’s largest fleets continue to both reduce environmental impact and improve bottom line, we look to companies like FCA US to help pave the roads for other fleet managers as they determine which technologies and efficiency measures will garner the greatest return on investment.”
FCA US has a history of being a pioneer in the area of CNG. The Ram 2500 Compressed Natural Gas truck is the industry’s first factory-built pickup powered by CNG, offering fleet and commercial customers the cost and emissions benefits of this domestically sourced fuel.
Nominees were submitted by NGVAmerica members who then selected the winners after a thorough review of submissions.
