Daimler Trucks’ all-electric FUSO eCanter vehicles have been released to a number of European customers. Global logistics giants DHL, DB Schenker, Rhenus and Dachser will now employ the use of Daimler’s all-electric light-duty truck in their fleet. The FUSO eCanter is designed as an sustainable alternative in fleets for the last miles of transportation.
DHL will use 6 vehicles with two of its business divisions – two of which will be to preform inner city runs. Uwe Brinks, CEO DHL Freight, said that the “usage of alternative drivetrains, as in the all-electric FUSO eCanter, plays a major role in reaching our corporate goals to reduce all logistics related emissions to zero until 2050. DHL Freight is firmly committed to playing its part in this. With the help of the eCanter we want to reduce emissions and local air pollutants of our logistics and so optimize our own CO2- footprint as well as our customers’ one.”
Likewise, Rehenus Group is to use 3 eCanter trucks in its home delivery unit and Dascher aims to use two of the all-electric trucks for last mile delivery. Additionally, DB Schenker will use the vehicles as an opportunity to test electric vehicles in an inner city setting, delivering and collecting general cargo. Head of Rhenus home delivery, Nicolas Rottmann, has explained that: ““Within Rhenus Home Delivery we follow a sustainable corporate philosophy. In addition to introducing no-paper deliveries we have been preoccupied with eco-friendly alternative drivetrains for a long time. The eCanter is now giving us an opportunity to test battery-based electric vehicles in our fleet.”
The future looks bright for the FUSO eCanter as it is to play an important role in sustainable fleet management, particularly in urban delivery transport. The product brand was first introduced in October this year. Since then, then the FUSO brand has demonstrated commitment to providing alternative drivetrains and plans to offer one additional electric variant to all truck and bus models in the coming years.
Marc Llistosella, head of Daimler Trucks Asia, explains: “With the FUSO eCanter we are delivering the first all-electric truck in series production to our customers in Europe today. Over 90,000 kilometers of testing in everyday operating conditions secure that we handover a reliable and economical vehicle to our customers. With the FUSO eCanter our customers now operate not only quietly and without locally emitted CO2, they also save money on operating costs. This is the future of urban distribution transport.”
