Daimler Truck Australia has announced its first all-electric truck, the Fuso eCanter has completed its extensive local testing program and is set to be launched in Australia later this month.
Daimler says the local testing program for the eCanter started in the middle of last year(2020) and came after an earlier incarnation of the eCanter was trialled with a few customers in 2019.
The company says the latest eCanter testing program involved running around the clock across three shifts to test the trucks’ capability in the local Australian environment.
The eCanter will be the first Original Equipment Manufacturer (OEM) all-electric truck to be available in Australia.
Electric vehicle converter, SEA has fitted electric drivetrains to glider chassis from various OEMs, including Isuzu and Hino, while Volvo has a couple of electric powered medium duty FL chassis in Australia ahead of trials with Linfox, but is still some way away from offering the truck for sale in Australia.
The all-electric Canter model had already undergone a substantial global testing program before it was launched at the Tokyo Motor Show in 2017 and operators in the United States, Europe and Japan have since covered more than three million kilometres of real world driving according to Daimler.
While key Fuso Australian customers ran an eCanter with a pantech body as an evaluation in mid-2019 and came away impressed, this truck as mentioned earlier, benefits from significant updates and advances.
The updated eCanter was used for the recent Australian test program, which Daimler says logged important information about the performance of the truck running fully loaded at its 7.5 tonne GVM, around the clock, as well as providing data related to its recharging.
Daimler says the eCanter performed strongly in the test, unfazed by tough Australian conditions.
The company says its eCanter was developed from the ground-up using Daimler’s vast research and development resources and says it offers Australian customers a fully-integrated OEM all-electric truck that will be supported by its national dealership network.
“Our customers are very excited about the impending arrival of the eCanter,” says the newly appointed Fuso Truck and Bus Australia director, Alex Müller
“They are pleased to be able to choose an all-electric truck that has been designed, developed, produced and locally tested by Fuso, which will be supporting the vehicle on the ground in Australia with our comprehensive dealership network,” he says.
Like all Canter 4×2 models, the eCanter is equipped with a long list of unmatched safety features including Advanced Emergency Braking System, Lane Departure Warning System, Electronic Stability Control, Hill Start, a reversing camera and driver and passenger airbags. Fuso includes these key safety features at no extra cost to customers.
The eCanter will feature on the Daimler stand at the Brisbane Truck Show to be held at the Brisbane Convention and Exhibition Centre from 13 to 16 May.
