It's nearing primetime for off-highway hybrids

Vocational off-highway vehicles are piling on the miles with power provided by an internal combustion engine (ICE) with additional hybrid technology. “We often get asked the question, especially by those outside the industry, ‘Why don't we just electrify everything?’ The reason is the current challenges we have with battery-electric vehicles,” Grant Van Tine, product manager for electric vehicles at John Deere, said during a webinar hosted by SAE Media Group.

Van Tine and Mihai Dorobantu, Eaton Mobility Group's director of technology planning and government affairs, cited facts, figures and infield and in-development examples of why hybrid innovations are especially relevant today in a session addressing “The Future Role of Hybrids in Off-Highway Vehicles.”