OK, so this may not be a cool vehicle that most of us will ever use, but Toyota has recently created a diesel-electric hybrid forklift that is sure to make workplaces more ecologically friendly. 
I and many others have been excited about the idea of diesel-electric hybrids, although most of us probably weren’t expecting forklifts to be one of the first diesel-electric hybrid vehicles. Volkswagen did, at one point, announce that they were going to build a diesel-electric golf hybrid, but it turned out to be way too expensive. The forklift hybrid, though, is not as expensive.
The hybrid forklift used a 2.5 liter diesel in combination with a NIMH battery pack. It can lift a maximum of 3,500 kg. When driving, it uses battery power. When lifting, the hybrid combines the battery powered motor and the fuel powered motor to operate the hydraulic pump. Toyota has announced that the hybrid engine will get 50% better fuel economy than a standard forklift and will also produce 50% fewer emissions as well. That’s not as great as many people would like, but it’s certainly a step in the right direction.
If you work for a company that uses a number of forklifts in their warehouses or in other locations, encourage them to purchase hybrid forklifts when they need to replace older forklifts. Your company will save a great amount of money and will be much greener in the long run.
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on May 27th, 2009 at 3:29 pm
This was a great post, You don’t usually think of material handling equipment to be in the for front of Green Products or diesel-electric hybrids, But Toyota always has there head in the game.
on May 27th, 2009 at 7:38 pm
There are way for people and businesses of all backgrounds to be more environmentally conscious. I think we are at the beginning of a push for businesses to go green and increase their bottom line as a result.