Sweden's AB Volvo, one of the world's largest truckmakers, on Friday unveiled a new hybrid engine technology that it said will cut fuel consumption in heavy vehicles by up to 35 percent.
The hybrid vehicles are expected to be launched in 2009, and will feature a diesel engine supported by electric batteries charged by energy released from the brakes, Volvo said. The electric engine will reduce both fuel emissions and noise levels, making the vehicles more suitable for city traffic, the company which also makes buses said at a news conference in Stockholm.
"There is a growing interest in the market to reduce fuel consumption," Volvo Chief Executive Leif Johansson said. "We now have a technology that is interesting from a commercial viewpoint ... for a hybrid market for heavy vehicles."
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