PORTLAND, OR -- Dunbar Armored has taken delivery of what’s being called the first-ever hybrid-electric armored truck – a Freightliner Business Class M2 106 Hybrid.

The Freightliner Business Class M2 106 Hybrid can be easily configured for a wide variety of bodies and different applications, Freightliner Trucks said.

Dunbar Armored is one of the largest privately owned armored car service providers in the U.S. The company provides security service to commercial, financial, state and federal institutions. The company’s new Business Class M2 106 Hybrid truck – which will be the first hybrid vehicle in Dunbar’s fleet of more than 1,400 – will be in service in California. 

“Not only do we want to offset future fuel costs, but we’re finding that our customers are also looking to us to be environmentally conscious,” said Douglas White, vice president of fleet maintenance for Dunbar Armored. “Freightliner Trucks offered the best solution for our first hybrid vehicle.” 

Freightliner Trucks is a division of Daimler Trucks North America. All of Freightliner Trucks’ hybrid vehicles are equipped with EPA 2010-compliant engines using selective catalytic reduction (SCR) technology and the Eaton Hybrid Electric Drivetrain System, a parallel hybrid system that enables the truck to operate using the diesel engine alone or in combination with the electric hybrid motor. 

Dunbar’s new Business Class M2 106 Hybrid truck is the first production hybrid in the medium-duty market to include Eaton’s “engine off at stop” technology, which shuts the engine off completely when the vehicle comes to a stop, Freightliner said. 

The “engine off at stop” feature also includes a hill-hold function, which prevents the truck from rolling on grades greater than 2 percent when the driver stops pressing the brake and steps on the accelerator. Combined, the new features are expected to give customers up to an additional 8 percent in fuel savings, according to Freightliner. 

“Together with Eaton, we continue to enhance our hybrid solution to help companies like Dunbar maximize fuel efficiency and benefit the environment,” said David Bryant, vocational sales manager of hybrids for Freightliner Trucks.