Daimler Trucks delivers first all-electric Fuso eCanter trucks to UK customers

Daimler Trucks, the world’s biggest manufacturer of commercial vehicles, has handed over the first all-electric Fuso eCanter trucks to customers in Great Britain. This follows the market launches in New York, Tokyo and Berlin.

In London, Daimler handed over the Fuso eCanter vehicles to the courier service DPD, the logistics company Wincanton and the baked goods manufacturer Hovis. DPD, Wincanton and Hovis are initially starting with a total of nine Fuso eCanters in their fleets. The vehicles have a range of around 100km and are used in urban short-radius delivery in and around London.

DPD is an international courier service which delivers 4.8 million parcels a day in over 200 countries. In Great Britain, DPD employs over 6,000 employees and drives 2,340 vehicles. DPD will use two Fuso eCanters for an initial period of two years. 

Wincanton is the largest logistics service provider in the UK and employs around 17,500 employees at more than 200 sites. The company plans to use five Fuso eCanter trucks in its fleet. 

Hovis is a company specialising in baked goods and has its headquarters in High Wycombe. It employs around 3,200 people in Great Britain. Hovis is starting out with two Fuso eCanter trucks. 

The Fuso eCanter was developed by the Daimler subsidiary Mitsubishi Fuso Truck & Bus Corp (MFTBC). Production for the European and USA market is in Tramagal (Portugal). The Fuso eCanter models for customers in Asia come from the MFTBC plant in Kawasaki.

Following its global market launch in September 2017 in New York the first eCanter went to companies such as UPS in the USA, Yamato and 7-Eleven in Japan as well as DHL, DB Schenker, Rhenus and Dachser in Germany. 

The eCanter has a gross vehicle weight of 7.49 tonnes and depending on the body and area of application a load capacity of up to 4.5 tonnes. The vehicle's electric drive system comprises six high-voltage lithium-ion batteries with 420 V and 13.8 kWh respectively. With a permanent-magnet motor it delivers 129 kW (180 hp) of power to the rear axle via a single-speed transmission. One battery charge facilitates a range of around 100 kilometres. This range exceeds the distance usually covered per day in light-duty distribution haulage.

Also read: First all-electric Fuso trucks delivered to logistics companies in Europe