NEWS
WWW.EXPORTANDFREIGHT.COM
Irish County Council Takes Delivery of Electric FUSO eCanter Three years after the launch of small-series production, deliveries of Daimler Trucks’ all-electric light-duty truck FUSO eCanter have now surpassed 200 vehicles; it includes one recently to Fingal County Council in Dublin. Comments Mary T Daly, Director of Operations and Water Services at Fingal County Council: “Electic vehicles now represent 15 per cent of our fleet with that figure set to grow in 2021. We had only been able to bring in electric vans because there was nothing on the market that met our other requirements until now. The FUSO eCanter is a game changer. It is the first fully electric 7.5 ton tipper truck on the Irish market that is suitable for our needs and it allows us to continue to grow the number of electric vehicles in our fleet.” And adds Sales Manager of FUSO Ireland, Andrew Johnson: “FUSO Ireland are delighted to supply the first electric 7.5t eCanter to Fingal County Council. We are thrilled
to be supporting Fingal County Council with their strategy to reduce their carbon footprint in line with the Climate Change Action Plan. FUSO Ireland and Fingal County Council have an established and successful partnership and the introduction of the eCanter into their fleet will expand and enhance their green journey.”
Around the World Customers in eleven other countries and cities such as New York, Tokyo, Berlin, London, Amsterdam, Paris, Oslo, Copenhagen, Helsinki and Lisbon are also trusting in the reliable urban delivery truck. More deliveries are set to follow. With the launch of the eCanter in 2017, FUSO has staked its claim
as a pioneer and leader in electric trucks, working towards providing sustainable, CO2-neutral transport.
aspects such as its excellent chassis payload of up to 4.15 tonnes, which is more than sufficient for urban delivery purposes. Typical use cases of the vehicle include the short-radius delivery of packaged goods, e-commerce orders, post or even beverage and industrial gas transportation. Customers in Europe include logistical household names such as PostNL, Dachser, Deutsche Post DHL, Rhenus Group or DB Schenker.
As of February 2021, more than 40 vehicles are running in the United States, over 60 trucks in Japan and another 100+ FUSO eCanter in customer operations in Europe. The total distance travelled by the global eCanter fleet now exceeds a combined three million kilometres driven locally emission free – equivalent to a staggering 75 circumventions of planet Earth.
As a pioneer of electric trucks, FUSO has set the vision to accelerate electrification and locally zero emission transportation in the commercial vehicle industry. In line with the sustainability strategy of Daimler Trucks, FUSO leads the commercial vehicle industry into the future and aims to have all new vehicles in the Triad (Europe, North America, and Japan) “tankto-wheel” CO2-neutral by 2039.
The 7.49-tonne vehicle has a driving range of more than 100 kilometres with a single charge, and is particularly suited for locally zero-emission and quiet innercity distribution. Moreover, the FUSO eCanter convinces with
The eCanter thereby plays a significant role toward achieving carbon neutral transportation, with the ongoing movement toward carbon neutral societies addressed by various governments in European countries as well as overseas.
Government Criticised Over EV Grant Decision The Government’s announcement that it is to lower the grant for electric vehicles has been roundly condemned. Among those not happy with the decision is Mark Barrett, General Manager, Harris MAXUS, who calls it a ‘retrograde step’. He adds: “It comes without any warning and at a time when incentives are vital to encouraging drivers and fleet buyers to make the switch to greener motoring. If we are to move to a zero-emission market, significant government supports are needed given the current higher cost of EV vehicles. “A lower EV grant has the potential to stall the good progress being made in meeting the targets and deadlines that have been set to achieve a zero-emission market.
Mark Barrett, General Manager, Harris MAXUS.
66
EXPORT&FREIGHT
“There is a growing range of EV vans in the market and many tenders in process waiting to be awarded. This move by government will alter the dynamic of commercial fleet tenders for
which price is a huge factor and may now result in fleet buyers delaying the move to electric.” He continues: “There should have been consultation with OEMs to ascertain what EVs are in production and the level of tenders or quotes that are in train using the higher OLEV support amount. We all knew that the grants were never going to be forever and would, over time, be reduced. However, the sector should have been given a lead in time of at least six months to allow us to prepare for the changes, address pending orders etc. “Notwithstanding this announcement, MAXUS will continue to do all that we can through innovation, education and choice, to help people make the switch and understand not only the benefits, but also the real TCO (total cost of ownership) of buying and running an EV van.”
