Peterbilt Motors rolls out large hybrid truck in Moncton on Tuesday. (CBC)

The face of the large trucking industry may be changing after Peterbilt Motors rolled out one of the first hybrid models in Moncton.

U.S.-based Peterbilt used its Moncton showroom to show off the new hybrid heavy truck on Tuesday. It was the first time this new style of hybrid has been displayed in Atlantic Canada.

Even though the truck costs more up front, officials say it's worth it.

Peter Nelson, the executive director of the Atlantic Provinces Trucking Association, said the industry is moving toward greener options.

"The whole era of the big dirty truck is just dissipating," Nelson said. "It's just going in another direction, and we won't see it again."

The truck runs on diesel and uses two 25-kilogram lithium batteries, like those in a cell phone.

These hybrids are the size of the trucks that are often used by large utility companies such as NB Power. And it's those industries that the truck's manufacturer hopes to attract for this new fleet of hybrids.

Matt Preston, a spokesman for Peterbilt Canada, said the truck saves 80 per cent of fuel when the truck is idling and 30 per cent when it's running.

"The boom arm for getting the guys up the pole … can run strictly off battery power," Preston said.

"This truck will run engine-off and can run the arm an average 28 minutes. Then what happens is the truck is going to start up on its own, and it'll take 4½ minutes [till] it recharges the batteries 100 per cent."

The cost of an individual truck varies on what specifications a company needs. However, the hybrid model is estimated to be $40,000 to $50,000 more than a regular truck.

Nelson said the long-term savings are worth picking the more expensive hybrid.

The company estimates that the truck would run off its battery for seven hours in an eight-hour day.

Peterbilt is the first to have these motors in the province, and Preston said there's good reason it was longer in coming than hybrid cars.

"It took a little longer to develop the technology to have a battery that will last a sustainable charge and to have the size to fit it," he said.

"It's been a few years to get a battery large enough that would fit on a chassis and it wasn't going to be an awkward thing to put on there."

Peterbilt plans to roll out hybrids in long-haul trucks in the next 18 months, and that will also be important to a truck-reliant region like Atlantic Canada.