Fuso has announced it has subjected its all-electric eCanter to a six month long around the clock torture test, in real world conditions ahead of the truck’s official Australian launch in February next year.
The eCanter is the world’s first production all-electric light truck and while Victorian residents have had their spirits tested over the past six months Daimler has testing the truck on the State’s roads throughout the same period as part of the six-month test.
The Australian tests are in addition to the substantial global testing program and the real world experience of vehicle operators in the United States, Europe and Japan since the eCanter’s introduction in 2017.
Daimler has stated that the eCanter was developed from the ground-up using Daimler’s research and development resources and “offers Australian customers a fully-integrated Original Equipment Manufacturer (OEM) all-electric truck”.
For the local test program, three drivers have been taking turns during each 24-hour period, running the eCanter on designated loops before returning and charging the truck, ready for the next driver. It has been run empty as well at its maximum Gross Vehicle Mass of 7.5 tonnes in rain, hail and shine according to Daimler.
“The eCanter test program is one small part of the testing and development program for this ground-breaking all-electric vehicle, but it is very important,” says Daimler Truck and Bus Australia Pacific president and CEO, Daniel Whitehead.
“Our customers need to know that they are buying a product from a manufacturer that has done the hard work to ensure its vehicle has been properly developed and tested,” he says.
Daniel Whitehead says there has been a lot of interest in eCanter from large Australian fleets.
“These customers are especially attracted by the fact the eCanter is a fully-integrated manufacturer developed and tested electric truck, rather than something put together by a third party using a donor truck and electric components from another source,” Mr Whitehead says.
Fuso presented an eCanter at the 2019 Brisbane Truck Show and select Australian fleets subsequently briefly trialled the ground-braking machine.
The eCanter is equipped with a long list of unmatched safety features including Advanced Emergency Braking, Lane Departure Warning, Electronic Stability Control, Hill Start assist, reversing camera and driver and passenger airbags. Fuso includes these key safety features at no extra cost to customers.
