Daimler Truck AG and its Japanese subsidiary Mitsubishi Fuso Bus and Truck Corporation have announced the handover of the first Fuso next-generation eCanter to Yamoto Transport Co. The all-electric truck is the first of around 900 such eCanters that Yamoto Transport has ordered from Fuso. This is the largest single order for Fuso’s light-duty electric truck eCanter so far. The remaining deliveries to the customer will follow sequentially from now on.
Yamato Transport is introducing the eCanter as part of its efforts to achieve a 48% reduction in greenhouse gas emissions by 2030 (compared to 2020), and ultimately virtually zero greenhouse gas emissions by 2050. Yamato Transport will use Fuso Green Lease, a lease product by Daimler Truck Financial Services Asia exclusively for the new eCanter, designed to meet the specific needs of electric trucks. Fuso Green Lease comes up with a comprehensive and tailor-made eMobility ecosystem, including vehicle maintenance services and special warranties.
The first eCanter was launched by Fuso in 2017 as Japan’s first mass-produced electric locally CO2-emission free light-duty truck, reducing the burden on the driver with its low noise/vibration driving. Over the past five years, several customers in markets all over the world have used the Fuso eCanter in their businesses and provided comprehensive feedback based on their real-life experiences.
Fuso states that it has used this customer feedback during the development of the next-generation eCanter. Yamato Transport as one of the very first eCanter customers introduced 25 units of the first-generation eCanter in its fleet in 2017. Based on their positive experience using the eCanter over several years in home delivery and other logistics services in Japan, Yamato Transport decided to introduce around 900 units of the next-generation eCanter Japan-wide.
Karl Deppen, president and CEO of Mitsubishi Fuso Truck and Bus Corporation, said: “Fuso’s eCanter reduces the burden on drivers by offering them safe, low-vibration driving without emissions. This was highly evaluated by Yamato Transport, who previously introduced 25 of the first-generation eCanter back in 2017.”
The next-generation eCanter was launched earlier this year in various European markets, Japan and a number of overseas markets. Last month, Fuso introduced the eCanter for the first time in Indonesia and Chile.
On May 22, 2023, the Mitsubishi Fuso Europe plant in Tramagal, Portugal, began production of the next-gen e-Canter in Europe. Production of the all-electric light truck has already started in the first quarter at the sister plant in Kawasaki, Japan, which delivers the new eCanter in Japan as well as in all other non-European markets worldwide. In Europe, sales will initially start in 17 markets (France, Spain, Portugal, Italy, the UK, Ireland, Germany, Austria, Switzerland, Belgium, the Czech Republic, Denmark, Sweden, Finland, Slovakia, Greece and Poland).
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