The plan, under development by Fuso Truck and Bus Australia and announced by its director, Justin Whitford, comes in the same week that parent company Mitsubishi Fuso Truck and Bus Corporation (MFTBC) launched the eCanter in New York.
“We are very excited about the eCanter, the first electric truck from a global manufacturer,” he said.
“It will change the way people think about electrification in the Australian freight industry.”
Australian trials will start after the eCanter is introduced to its main markets in the US, Japan and Europe.
MFTBC is planning to deliver 500 eCanters to customers within the next two years, with larger scale production intended to start in 2019.
At the eCanter launch in New York, Fuso announced it has leased three of the new trucks to delivery firm UPS and another eight to four New York-based non-profit organisations including the Wildlife Conservation Society and New York Botanical Garden.
UPS has 8500 alternative drivetrain vehicles on its global fleet of about 110,000 vehicles.
The trucks will be leased to UPS because Fuso said it expected a new generation of battery technology within two years that will have a longer range, lower cost and lower weight.
The Fuso eCanter has a range of 100km and a load capacity up to three and a half tonnes, depending on body and usage.
It has an electric powertrain with six high-voltage lithium-ion battery packs with 420 volts and 13.8 kWh each.
Fuso said that in comparison with a conventional diesel truck, it offers savings up to about $A1500 on operating costs for each 10,000km travelled.
Fuso in Australia already sells the Canter Eco-Hybrid diesel-electric 7.5-tonne truck.
The announcement from Fuso – part of Mitsubishi which in turn is a subsidiary of the world’s biggest truck-maker, Daimler – comes during a flurry of electric-truck activity.
In July, Victorian-based SEA Electric started supplying nine fully-electric trucks to Kings Transport after securing the contract (see Premium July 20, 2017).
Tesla was expected to this month launch its electric truck – but pushed it back to late October – while Nikola said its EV truck would be on the road by 2021.
Nikola has announced that its sales strategy would be based on monthly payments that include the price of the truck, its fuel, maintenance and insurance. This strategy, also proposed by some car-makers including Mercedes-Benz, follows the simple lease plans of mobile phones.
Last week, US powertrain specialist Cummins said it was developing electric drivetrains and would have a transit bus in operation by 2019 and larger trucks from 2020. Cummins makes only the drive units and is liaising with truck manufacturers.
By Neil Dowling
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