Ask any gathering of British road transport engineers who is furthest down the road, in terms of top-weight hybrid truck development - North America or Europe -and the chances are many will answer 'Europe'. They'd be wrong. When it comes to hybrid tractive units, US truck makers and operators are streets, if not freeways, ahead of their European counterparts. Should you doubt that statement, I'd direct you to one outstanding exhibit at the recent Mid America Trucking Show (MATS). The ultra-slippery Walmart Advanced Vehicle Experience (WAVE) concept artic is the latest step in the US supermarket giant's ongoing journey, started in 2005, towards doubling the operating efficiency of its massive North American truck fleet by 2015. It's already well on the way. As of last year, the company claims to have achieved an 84% improvement in fleet efficiency over its 2005 baseline.
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