Off-highway hybrids are entering PRIME TIME

Increased performance and lower emissions explain why hybrid technology is an appealing option for certain off-highway vehicles. Just ask John Deere.

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 an August 22 webinar hosted by SAE Media Group.

Van Tine and Mihai Dorobantu, PhD, Eaton Mobility Group's director of technology planning and government affairs, cited facts, figures and in-field 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” (www.sae.org/webcasts/sae-on-demand).