Daimler Truck’s Fuso subsidiary is now producing the battery-electric Next Generation eCanter at the Mitsubishi Fuso Truck Europe plant in Tramagal, Portugal.
The vehicle will be offered to European buyers in six wheelbases, and with gross vehicle weights of 4.25 to 8.55 tons (9,370 to 18,850 lb.). Those with gross vehicle weights of 4.25 and 6 tons (13,230 lb.) will feature 110-kW motors, while those at 7.49 and 8.55 tons (16,500 and 18,850 lb.) will feature 129 kW. The powertrain features 430 Nm (317 lb-ft) of torque, and maximum speeds are set at 89 km/h.
Battery range is determined through a choice of three battery packs. The S variant offers 41 kWh for a 70-km range, while the M doubles that range with 83 kWh of power. At the top end of the scale, the L features 124 kWh and a 200-km range. In contrast, the first eCanters only featured 81 kWh and a range of up to 100 km.
“We at Daimler Truck are fully committed to the Paris Climate Agreement and making sustainable transport a success, which is why we aim to offer only CO2-neutral vehicles in our core global markets by 2039,” Daimler Truck Asia CEO Karl Deppen said in a press release. “With this, we are taking an important step closer to CO2-neutral transportation.”
While the electric version is new, the plant in Portugal has produced 250,000 Fuso Canters since 1980. A plant in Kawasaki, Japan, is responsible for non-European markets.
There are more than 550 Fuso eCanters at work in Europe, Japan, the U.S., Australia and New Zealand, and they have collectively covered about 8 million km.
The official launch of European production comes on the heels of Daimler Truck’s launch of the new Rizon brand in the U.S. Those Class 4-5 vehicles will be distributed exclusively by Velocity Vehicle Group.
Seeking the Kindest Town for truckers, and World Sustainable Transport Day
In other global trucking news:
- RHA, a trucking association based in the United Kingdom, has launched a campaign to honor the U.K.’s Kindest Town for commercial vehicle drivers, based on criteria that relate to driver experiences. Votes will be based on factors such as access to amenities, time or weight restrictions, areas to safely park and rest, access to food and fuel, and local roads fit for heavy vehicles. “Kindness” of residents and their actions on local roads will also be weighed.
- The first UN World Sustainable Transport Day will be recognized Nov. 26. That will offer “a special opportunity for every citizen on this planet to stop, reflect, and recognize just how crucial transport, and road transport in particular, is in every aspect of our daily lives,” said IRU Secretary General Umberto de Pretto. The IRU had initially proposed a World Transport Day.
- China President Xi Jinping used an address at the China-Central Asia Summit to commit to increasing cross-border cargo moves, referring to trucks, flights and railways as “present-day camel caravans”. He pledged more steps to open “green lanes” to streamline customs procedures at border points between China and Central Asia, develop the trans-Caspian international transport corridor, enhance the traffic capacity of the China-Kyrgyzstan-Uzbekistan highway and the China-Tajikistan-Uzbekistan highway, and more.
- Volvo Trucks has signed a deal to sell 1,000 electric trucks between now and 2030 to Holcim, a business known for sustainable building systems such as low-carbon concrete and environmentally friendly building products. It represents the largest order for Volvo’s electric trucks to date. The first 130 FH and Volvo FM trucks will be delivered to markets including France, Germany, Switzerland, and the U.K. during the fourth quarter of 2023 and throughout 2024.
- Einride, a Swedish company that has been developing highly autonomous vehicles, will add 50 battery-electric New Generation DAF XD trucks to its fleet. The trucks, featuring three to five battery packs, will offer maximum ranges of 500 km. DAF is a Paccar subsidiary, and commissioned a new electric truck assembly plant in April.
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