Daimler Truck’s new ‘incarnation’ for its Fuso brand in the North America, Rizon, has announced the arrival of its first shipment of medium duty class 4-5 vehicles in Canada.
Daimler said the initial shipment marks the first since Rizon’s launch in the Canadian market back in April this year.
The company said this shipment includes the first 12 units from a 22-vehicle order, with the remaining trucks expected later this month, with the handover to customers across various sectors is anticipated to commence in January.
The company said 19 of its new Rizon trucks will be dispatched to customers in British Columbia and Quebec, post-customisation with different bodies such as dry boxes, service bodies, and landscape dumps.
Rizon says it has reserved three of the electric trucks for demonstration purposes and it says to showcase the versatility and capabilities of the electric fleet.
In base terms the new Rizon trucks are much the same as the Fuso eCanter models we see sold here in Australia through the Daimler network
Rizon global head of truck Andreas Deuschle said that he was very excited the first order of Rizon trucks is reaching Canada and will soon be on the streets serving customers with zero-emission operations.
“The market response has been enthusiastic, and we are proud to provide Canada with the very best electric commercial vehicles on the market,” Deuschle said.
In Canada, the government’s federal iMHZEV Program means that these trucks are eligible for a $AUD87,461 (C$75,000 )($53,820) incentive under the program, with Rizon saying that additional incentives from provincial governments would add to the incentive for buyers.
Rizon say it will offer four model variants, which it has badged the e16L, e16M, e18L, and e18M, with the trucks offering gross vehicle weights from 7.2 tonne to 8 tonne with claimed driving ranges up to 257km for the L variant and 177km for the M variant on a single charge.
Rizon said its trucks are designed to be adaptable to various applications, including dry vans, flatbeds, landscape dumps, garbage compactors, and refrigerated units, with an electric power take-off (ePTO) for reefer belt drives and hydraulic pumps directly from the cab.
Like all of Daimler’s offerings these days, including the Fuso eCanters they’re based on, the Rizon trucks feature a full suite of advanced safety features, including active brake assist and active side guard assist.
Rizon pointed out something that doesn’t really apply here in Australia, and that it the fact that thee trucks have been designed to withstand harsh Canadian winters, featuring electric preconditioning systems that optimise battery temperature using grid power before operation.
The company said that driver comfort has also been enhanced with heated seats, steering wheels, and windshields, while the vehicles are compatible with both Level 2 AC and DC Fast Charging CCS1 systems.
Last week, Volvo and Daimler announced that they have signed a binding agreement to form a 50/50 JV to build a software-defined vehicle platform for heavy-duty commercial vehicles.
