MIAMI - The City of Miami, Miami-Dade County, and the City of Hialeah in Florida took delivery of a total of 11 hybrid-powered Autocar E3 refuse vehicles after successful field trials last summer. The vehicles are manufactured by Autocar, a manufacturer of commercial vehicles and Class 8 trucks, and feature the RunWise advanced series hybrid drive system from Parker Hannifin Corporation, a manufacturer of motion and control technologies, according to a release from the corporation.

During a full month of testing in South Florida, the RunWise system registered a 42 percent reduction in fuel consumption, equivalent to nearly double the miles per gallon. On an annual basis, the green technology reduces each truck's carbon footprint by more than 38 tons along routes with frequent stops. In addition, the technology extends the brake life for each truck by up to 8 times depending on the duty cycle, resulting in dramatically reduced maintenance costs, according to the release.

Public officials noted the benefits of the hybrid trucks for their communities at separate vehicle delivery ceremonies.