FUSO eCanter – First All-electric Truck in Series Production Delivered to Customers in Europe

December 14, 2017 

• First customers for the FUSO eCanter in Europe: Globally operating logistics companies DHL, DB Schenker, Rhenus and Dachser are first to receive FUSO eCanter in Europe
• Various areas of operation in delivery and logistics business
• FUSO eCanter as sustainable alternative in fleets for last-mile transportation and in urban areas
• Full electrification of entire FUSO truck and bus vehicle portfolio under the product brand E-FUSO
• Marc Llistosella, Head of Daimler Trucks Asia: “With the FUSO eCanter we are delivering the first all-electric, series-produced truck to our customers in Europe today. Over 90,000 kilometers of testing in everyday operating conditions ensures that we hand over a reliable and economical vehicle to our customers. With the FUSO eCanter our customers now operate not only quietly and without locally emitted CO2, they also save money on operating costs. This is the future of urban distribution systems.”

Kawasaki, Japan –  MFTBC   Mitsubishi Fuso Truck and Bus Corporation, under the umbrella of Daimler Trucks Asia, today delivered first units of its all-electric FUSO eCanter to European customers in Berlin. The renowned and globally operating logistics companies DHL, DB Schenker, Rhenus and Dachser will operate the all-electric, series-produced light-duty truck in their fleet. In future, these FUSO eCanter will play an important role in the companies’ sustainable fleet management, especially in urban delivery transport. With the launch of the product brand – E-FUSO – in October, FUSO has already strengthened its commitment to alternative drivetrains. Over the next years, all truck and bus models will come with an additional electric variant.

Marc Llistosella, Head of Daimler Trucks Asia, explains: “With the FUSO eCanter we are delivering the first all-electric series-produced truck to our customers in Europe today. Over 90,000 kilometers of testing in everyday operating conditions ensures that we hand over a reliable and economical vehicle to our customers. With the FUSO eCanter our customers now operate not only quietly and without locally emitted CO2, they also save money on operating costs. This is the future of urban distribution systems.”

Various areas of operation for customers

The customers are all in the logistics business, but the trucks’ areas of operation is diverse. All customers are putting the vehicles to work in areas that is usually carried out with conventional drivetrains. The customers’ decision to opt for the FUSO eCanter was influenced by factors such as noise and emission reductions, fleet-sustainability and also by economical reasons. Future FUSO eCanter drivers will be offered training to operate the vehicle. The customers obtain their vehicles through a 24 month long-term rental offered by CharterWay, Daimler’s own rental and leasing expert in the commercial vehicle business.

Deutsche Post DHL will use six vehicles in two important business divisions: Two vehicles will perform inner-city delivery runs for business and private customers of DHL Freight’s Berlin branch, for heavy cargo, such as electric or large household appliances. DHL Paket will use four vehicles for delivery of goods to businesses and corporate clients. For this, the electric trucks will be fully integrated in existing business processes and will replace vehicles with conventional drivetrains previously used in this area.

DB Schenker consciously chose the FUSO eCanter. The new vehicles give DB Schenker an opportunity to test a series-produced electric vehicle for inner-city logistics under real life conditions. Among other tasks, one of the three trucks will deliver and collect cargo in downtown Berlin.

Rhenus Group, a globally operating logistics provider, will use the three FUSO eCanter within its home delivery unit. From the central warehouse in Hoppegarten, the all-electric trucks will deliver furniture, consumer electronics, home appliances and heavy sport equipment to Berlin.

Two more FUSO eCanter will be in operation for the transport company Dachser. Their job will be general goods transportation on the last mile, meaning pallets loaded with industrial cargo at micro-hubs that are delivered directly to the customer, as well as collecting goods and delivering them to Dachser-branches. At these branches, the eCanter will recharge overnight using a high-voltage loading station.

Customers benefit from extensive pool of experience

After years of thorough development and testing, the FUSO eCanter is now fully integrated in the conventional FUSO Canter’s production line. In July this year, production in Tramagal, Portugal started. All eCanter for the European and the US markets are produced here.
On September 14, 2017 the FUSO eCanter had its global market launch in New York City. It is the world’s first all-electric, series-produced light-duty truck. Over the next years, Daimler subsidiary Mitsubishi Fuso Truck and Bus Corporation (MFTBC) is planning to deliver a total of 500 trucks of this generation to selected customers. Large-scale series production is planned to start in 2019. In the US, FUSO eCanter are already committed for delivery for the logistics company UPS, in Japan the convenience-store chain Seven-Eleven and Yamato Transport will each operate 25 eCanter.
FUSO looks back on years of gathered experience and know-how with hybrid and electric drivetrains. Since 2005, FUSO is offering the Canter Eco-Hybrid, a truck with hybrid drivetrain, to customers in Europe and Asia. In 2010, at the International Motor Show Germany for commercial vehicles (IAA), FUSO presented a first prototype of the electric Canter   the start of a pre-series production for testing in 2014. Development toward series production was fueled by the entire pool of experience and research findings from numerous customer-testing with pre-production vehicles in Portugal and Germany that were carried out between 2014 and 2017.

FUSO eCanter as appealing alternative for sustainable fleets

Depending on body and application the eCanter has a load-bearing capacity of up to 4.5 tons. The vehicle‘s electric power train contains six high-voltage lithium-ion batteries with 420 V and 13.8 kWh each. Instead of a diesel engine, the electric drivetrain with a strong permanent-magnet-motor delivers 129 kW (180 hp) via a single-gear transmission in the rear axle. 285 Newton meter of continuous output allow the 7.49 tons truck to accelerate almost like a passenger car. The maximum speed of the eCanter   like with any other vehicle of its weight class   is limited to 80 kilometers per hour. The batteries with a total weight of approximately 600 kilograms allow a range of over100 kilometers exceeding in many cases the daily distance needed for inner-city distribution. The all-electric light-duty truck is MFTBC’s answer to the public’s increasing call for a zero-emission, zero-noise truck for urban distribution. The eCanter is not only an eco-friendly vehicle, it is also cost-efficient and economical for customers. Compared to a conventional diesel truck, it offers savings up to 1,000 Euro per 10,000 kilometers in operating costs.

Full electrification of the entire FUSO product portfolio

At the Tokyo Motor Show 2017, MFTBC announced it will electrify its entire range of trucks and buses of its FUSO brand in the next years. With the new product brand E-FUSO, MFTBC becomes the first OEM with its own electric brand for trucks and buses. In the following years all FUSO truck and bus models will offer an additional electric variant. The timing for the launch of each model will be determined depending on required technology and feasibility. In the electrification process of its trucks and buses, FUSO benefits strongly from vast experience and technical resources of Daimler, which heavily invests in electric mobility. Daimler is consistently making use of synergies between its passenger car and commercial vehicle divisions. Deutsche Accumotive   also a Daimler subsidiary   provides the batteries for E-FUSO trucks. Mercedes-Benz Energy   a specialist for stationary energy storage systems   is developing opportunities for a second lifecycle of the batteries. Daimler also holds stakes in ChargePoint, the world’s largest provider of charging stations and infrastructure, as well as in StoreDot   an Israeli start-up developing new fast-charging battery technology.

Statements from our customers:

Uwe Brinks, CEO DHL Freight: “The usage of alternative drivetrains, as in the all-electric FUSO eCanter, plays a major role in reaching our corporate goals to reduce all logistics related emissions to zero until 2050. DHL Freight is firmly committed to playing its part in this. With the help of the eCanter we want to reduce emissions and local air pollutants and hence optimize our own CO2- footprint as well as that of our customers.”

Ewald Kaiser, COO DB Schenker AG:  “At DB Schenker we have been working for years toward becoming the global leader in “green“ logistics for our customers. Using the new eCanter is the next logical step to further expand our already existing eco-friendly solutions in overland transport, so that we can reach our goal to reduce the CO2-balance of our entire logistics operations by around 30 percent.”

Nicolas Rottmann, Head of Rhenus Home Delivery: “Within Rhenus Home Delivery we follow a sustainable corporate philosophy. In addition to introducing no-paper deliveries we have been preoccupied with eco-friendly alternative drivetrains for a long time. The eCanter is now giving us an opportunity to test battery-based electric vehicles in our fleet. Due to short distances from our central warehouse in Hoppegarten to our end customers, the inner city of Berlin provides an ideal surrounding for a sustainable all-electric vehicle.”

Stefan Hohm, Corporate Director, Corporate Solutions, Research & Development Dachser SE: “The vehicles are components in our project “City Distribution” and complement our innovative and sustainable concept for delivery in cities. In each city, it is about putting together an ideal vehicle-mix and to combine the fleet with inner-city micro-hubs. We have chosen the FUSO eCanter, because the vehicle is the first series-produced electric truck and thus will give the entire commercial vehicle class a push. Furthermore, Daimler CharterWay has been a partner of our fleet for many years, on which we can rely in terms of city logistics in the future.”

Photos of the event will be available from 02.00 p.m. CET  at d.ai/ecanter.

Media Contact:
Florian Laudan: + 81 44 330 7970, florian.laudan@daimler.com
Humza Ahmad: +81 44 330 7857, humza.ahmad@daimler.com

FUSO at a Glance
FUSO is a Daimler Truck brand, covering nearly all regions around the world. FUSO’s light-duty to heavy-duty trucks (GVW 3.5 49 tons), vans, industrial engines, and buses are sold in more than 170 markets. The FUSO brand is based on four core brand values; Trusted Quality, Economic Efficiency, Solid & Functional Design, and Committed Services.

E-FUSO at a Glance
E-FUSO is the all-electric product brand of Mitsubishi Fuso Truck and Bus Corporation (MFTBC). With vast experience in the development of alternative drivetrains, MFTBC is committed to release all-electric versions of its entire product portfolio including light, medium, and heavy-duty trucks and buses. In 2017, Mitsubishi Fuso became the first global OEM to launch an all-electric, series-produced light-duty truck: the eCanter.

MFTBC at a Glance
Based in Kawasaki, Japan, Mitsubishi Fuso Truck and Bus Corporation (MFTBC) is one of Asia’s leading commercial vehicle manufacturers. In 2016, the company sold a total of 130,000 vehicles including light, medium, and heavy-duty trucks and buses under the FUSO brand, with 89.29% of its shares owned by Daimler AG and10.71% by various Mitsubishi group companies. MFTBC is an integral part of the Daimler Trucks division of Daimler AG.