August 9, 2024

MFTBC begins EV truck battery swapping demonstration on public roads with Yamato Transport and Ample

• Using MFTBC’s electric light-duty eCanter truck, batteries are swapped at Ample’s fully automated swapping station
• Yamato Transport to verify practicality by trialing collection and delivery operations on public roads
• Collaboration aimed at driving EV truck expansion by offering customers more choices

Mitsubishi Fuso Truck and Bus Corporation (Headquarters: Kawasaki City, Kanagawa Prefecture, President and CEO: Karl Deppen, hereafter: MFTBC) will start an EV truck battery-swapping demonstration on public roads in Kyoto, Japan from August 2024.

“eCanter” battery-swapping model and Ample’s fully-automated swapping station,
which are used for the verification
(The left vehicle is utilized by Yamato Transport)

MFTBC’s electric light-duty “eCanter” truck equipped with Ample’s swappable battery modules (Headquarters: San Francisco, CEO: Khaled Hassounah, President: John de Souza, hereafter: Ample) are being used for the demonstration. eCanter’s batteries will be swapped at Ample’s battery swapping stations deployed in Kyoto City in collaboration with ENEOS Holdings Inc. (Headquarters: Chiyoda Ward, Tokyo, President: Tomohide Miyata). Yamato Transport Co., Ltd. (Headquarters: Chuo Ward, Tokyo, President: Yutaka Nagao) will trial the battery-swapping eCanter on public roads for collection and delivery operations in Kyoto City.

When the eCanter enters the Ample fully-automated swapping station, robots automatically exchange batteries within the target time of five minutes. This technique was previously demonstrated to the public at the Japan Mobility Show in 2023; MFTBC now takes the next step in bringing this technology to public roads. From observing these operations, MFTBC and the other participating companies will identify the benefits and challenges of battery swapping and investigate the scalability of the technology with future practical use in Japan in mind.

For MFTBC, this joint demonstration is an important step towards MFTBC’s ambition to drive EV truck expansion. Since launching the eCanter in 2017 as the first series-produced all-electric vehicle in the LDT segment, MFTBC has taken the lead in decarbonizing transportation. In addition to offering the existing eCanter, which has already accumulated over 12 million kilometers of mileage in customer hands worldwide, MFTBC aims to commercialize a battery-swapping EV truck. This would enable MFTBC to offer even more customers the chance to transition to carbon neutral logistics by providing a range of options comparable to that available for conventional diesel light-duty trucks.

Launched in March 2023, MFTBC’s “eCanter” new model is characterized by its selectable driving ranges with three battery sizes, and 28 models in Japan that can accommodate a variety of bodywork and applications, offering customers the value unique to EV trucks, such as zero emissions, low vibration, comfort, and quietness.

Having battery-swapping EV trucks would further expand the possibilities of EV trucks, by addressing worries about driving ranges, extending applications and significantly shortening the downtime of vehicles. In addition, by introducing the latest swappable batteries as technology evolves, users can always have access to the most up-to-date battery technology. Furthermore, this verification will also study a complete business model for battery-swapping EV trucks with the leasing product for eCanter “FUSO Green Lease”, provided by Daimler Truck Financial Service Asia Co., Ltd. (Headquarters: Minato Ward, Tokyo, President: Hans-Georg von Gumpenberg, hereafter: DTFSA). “FUSO Green Lease” provides a comprehensive financial solution that includes maintenance, insurance, a unified contract between parties, operational expertise with truck registration and monthly invoicing mechanism.

Additionally, the companies are also collaborating in accumulating operational experience necessary to popularize fully automated battery swapping stations for EVs as a new energy infrastructure. Ample’s fully automated battery swapping stations are fitted with the capability of swapping batteries not only for EV trucks, but also for passenger cars. The fully automated swapping stations are a viable solution to reduce downtime for the customer and spread zero-emission vehicles, which is critical to building a decarbonized society.

As the need for action to realize carbon neutrality grows stronger, MFTBC remains fully committed to providing customers with diverse options to reduce CO2 emissions.