UPS has new electric trucks — but people only care about how cute they are

• The US delivery service UPS has ordered 35 new delivery trucks from UK technology firm ARRIVAL.
• The trucks, which operate with zero exhaust emissions, will be trialled in the UK and France first.
• People seem to be much more preoccupied with how cute they look than how environmentally friendly they are.

It's great to hear that US delivery service UPS is on-board with the electric vehicle (EV) revolution.

It's ordered 35 new delivery trucks from UK technology firm ARRIVAL. They'll be trialled in the UK and France first, and operate with a total of zero exhaust emissions. They'll have a battery range of 250km and a host of extra tech including Advanced Driver Assistance Systems (ADAS) to manage safety and driver fatigue.

All of which is very laudable. And it isn't even UPS's first foray into EVs. It's ordered 125 of those Tesla semitrailers which it hopes will be built next year, and overall to date has invested nearly a billion dollars in some 1000 EVs and hybrid vehicles.

So what's new here?

This:

Exactly none of those 1000 vehicles already in UPS's fleet are anywhere near as handsome as the new ARRIVALs.

UPS might say "with its unique, wrap-around front window the driver has a much wider field of view that improves not only the safety of the driver but also that of cyclists and pedestrians.". Whereas the public have a much more succinct evaluation: they're really cute. 

Even tech professionals can't help but be won over by the adorable appearance of UPS' new electric vehicles - Engadget says they look like they're "straight out of a Pixar movie".

SEE ALSO: Google created a cute augmented-reality fox inside Google Maps

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