Fiat Chrysler Automobiles said Friday it has completed a two-year, $40-million project to switch to a new fleet of 179 trucks powered by compressed natural gas (CNG) and renovate its truck operations center on Detroit’s east side.
The automaker said it made the switch to CNG compressed natural gas because the fuel is cheaper than diesel fuel and generates fewer emissions.
The automaker says it spent $1.8 million to upgrade its 36,000 square-foot maintenance center and $5 million on the installation of a CNG refueling station at FCA Transport, the trucking operations center across from the Coleman A. Young International Airport.
Martin DiFiore, head of FCA Transport, said the conversion to CNG is the biggest change ever undertaken by FCA Transport.
“We have been FCA’s private (trucking) fleet since 1925. This is a major change in the way we operate,” DiFiore said. “It’s not just the investment, it’s a change in every process that you have. In our history there is probably nothing that compares to it.”
The automaker is leasing a fleet of Peterbilt trucks equipped with Cummins engines and six-speed automatic Allison transmissions. Four CNG fuel tanks stacked vertically behind the cab give the trucks a range of 640 miles, DiFiore said.
That’s plenty of range for the trucks to deliver engines, transmissions, body parts and stamped auto parts to plants in Indiana, Michigan, Ohio and Ontario.
Even with diesel fuel prices falling, DiFiore said the automaker estimates it will save, on average, about $2.5 million annually on fuel.
Natural gas powers about 150,000 vehicles in the U.S. and roughly 15.2 million vehicles worldwide, according to the alternative fuels data center. Natural gas vehicles, which can run on CNG, are good choices for high-mileage, centrally fueled fleets that operate within a limited area.
“This is really big news for our industry,” said Matthew Godlewski, president of Natural Gas Vehicles for America, calling it “an important commitment being made this year at a time when we are facing difficulty … over lower fuel process.”
Godlewski said AT&T, Frito Lay and UPS are among the companies in the U.S. with the largest fleets of CNG vehicles.
FCA’s refueling station was installed by White Plains, N.Y.-based TruStar Energy. According to TruStar, FCA’s refueling station is the largest private CNG station in the U.S. With six compressors, the station is able to dispense CNG at a rate equivalent to nearly 40 gallons of gas per minute.
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