A pair of 19th-century horse stables served as a backdrop in Manhattan’s East Village as Daimler Trucks unveiled its new electric commercial trucks under the Fuso brand. Just as the horse and buggy was supplanted by motorized carriages—a battle that continues even today— the world’s largest truck manufacturer is hoping its EVs will lead the revolution in the electrification of transportation.
The company claims this model, the Fuso eCanter, is the world’s first series-produced all-electric light-duty truck—yes, long before Tesla’s much anticipated pickup and semi. Daimler plans to deliver 50 eCanter trucks to customers this year in the United States. The initial operators will range from the Bronx Zoo to UPS, the latter of which will run three of the trucks on routes that are yet to be determined.
Daimler Brands Share the Electric Charge
Shared R&D is expected to be an important aspect of these new all-electric trucks as the program spreads to other locations, into more vehicles, and across Daimler’s brands, which include not only Mercedes but also Freightliner trucks, Thomas buses, and Smart cars as well as Mercedes-Benz’s nascent EQ sub-brand. With the promise of quieting the urban din of diesel vehicles that deliver our daily bread, Daimler said it hopes its experience with the medium-duty commercial box trucks will lead to better, more durable passenger EVs in the future. “Mercedes-Benz’s test cycles are not as brutal as ours,” says Marc Llistosella, head of Daimler Trucks Asia.
Llistosella said they’ve already learned important lessons in EV design. For example, tire compounds need to be adjusted, he said, because of the additional wear on rear rubber due to the increased torque. The effectiveness of audible pedestrian-warning systems, payment systems, and the charging infrastructure (Daimler is working with ChargePoint) are other areas where the company expects to glean new insights.
The eCanter can handle a maximum payload of 8000 pounds and has a top speed of 50 mph. It can travel 60 to 80 miles on a charge, depending on load factors such as whether or not the truck has a refrigeration unit. In its current configuration, it uses six lithium-ion 420-volt battery packs for a total capacity of 82.8 kWh. There’s no range-extending engine on board—which means that fleet planners will have to do their diligence—but with a CCS fast-charge port, the eCanter can reach 80 percent of battery capacity in an hour. UPS hopes faster charging will come along, allowing trucks to be charged while they are being quickly reloaded at distribution centers.
In a short test drive hauling two tons of water in back to simulate a delivery, the truck accelerated smartly and felt surprisingly agile. Its performance is both a benefit and potential danger; in fact, the original design produced 531 lb-ft of torque, which the company had to reduce to 288 lb-ft. “You can beat a yellow cab off the light,” boasted Otto Schmid, director, product management at Mitsubishi Fuso, as I floored it down a side street. “But it will be interesting because you don’t feel the load,” added Llistosella, “so we have to educate drivers.”
With other companies from Cummins to China’s BYD working on electric powertrains—and an expected truck announcement from Tesla in October—Daimler will have to continue work on EVs to maintain its market share. The company acknowledges that battery costs are still too high and the infrastructure is not yet adequate. “But you can’t wait for the perfect moment,” said Llistosella.
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