Think electric vehicles, and you automatically think of new-age cars designed to help people commute without leaving a trail of carbon footprint. But the auto industry isn’t just limited to cars. In fact, transport vehicles such as delivery vans and trucks account for a sizable chunk of automobiles on our roads today. Taking into consideration this often largely ignored the aspect of the auto world, Daimler’s light-truck brand Fuso has come up with its first electric truck offering.
After years of R&D, Fuso eCanter is finally ready to hit the roads, starting with Japan and USA, where these trucks are being deployed for delivering 7-Eleven and UPS, respectively. A fleet of 50 trucks is expected to arrive in North American by end of this year.
The Fuso eCanter is basically a noise-free, non-CO2 spewing alternative to mainstream delivery vehicles, designed to bring deliveries to your doorstep without denting the environment. This coupled with low cost of switching from conventional fuels to electric energy make the eCanter an appealing machine for prospective buyers. As per the company, the eCanter will reduce pollution by 16 tons every year as compared to the conventional Canter truck. Considering the number of trucks plying on our roads every day, this can lead to an astounding amount of CO2 being removed from the air.
Fuso also claims that its new trucks are also more economical and can lead to savings of up to $19,000 after five years of use when compared to the cost of running and maintaining the preceding generation of trucks. Fuso has also left room for upgrades to better batteries in its first generation e-trucks, as and when such improvements become available.
Another big highlight is the companion system that facilitates users to check the energy usage of their vehicles with far greater accuracy as compared to their oil fuel-based counterparts, down to the specifics of how much charging is required by the vehicle and when. This can come in handy on longer trips, as the eCanter comes with a range of 60-80 miles, for now, depending on the terrain and load. It is designed to accommodate 9,000 pounds of cargo.
A full charge of the six-battery pack fitted in the eCanter can take up to eight hours with a regular level-2charger, however, a fast DC charger can rev things up considerably, charging it to 80 percent of the battery’s capacity in nearly an hour’s time. Basically, a driver could put the truck on charge during a lunch break and get some extra battery power to go the distance.
The abundant torque, available right off the line, the engine power deliverable at almost any given speed, and the automatic transmission make it a breezy drive. These specs make the eCanter an ideal vehicle of densely populated urban centers such as New York, Chicago, and San Francisco, proving to be a solid performer vis-à-vis the conventional delivery vehicles currently available in the market.
With more and more countries waking up to the risk posed by gas-powered vehicles, and the consequent bans on their operations in countries like the UK and France – which are currently exploring the option of banning vehicles run on conventional fuels by 2040 – these e-trucks could well prove to be the future of transportation. For those looking to pre-empt such a measure by adding electric variants to their fleet of delivery vehicles, the eCanter is right there, waiting to be driven home.
[Source]
