Daimler’s European Fuso arm has completed a 12-month field trial of Canter E-Cell electric trucks in Portugal, reporting a 64 percent reduction in operating costs and no CO2 emissions on site.
Daimler electric trucks are here
Daimler gave the trucks to Portuguese cities and businesses, and the users definitely didn’t baby them. In Lisbon, the EV disposed of vegetation, and the Canter E-Cell collected recyclables in Porto. On average, the electric Canter trucks travelled 50 kilometres a day, but ranges of up to 109 kilometres were achieved in practice. All in all, the eight vehicles travelled 51,500 kilometres without any problems. The most used Canter E-Cell was in service with “Transporta” parcel service company and completed a distance of over 14,000 kilometres during the one-year trial.
The range of the lithium-ion batteries is 100 km per charge. Charging the batteries on a 230-volt outlet takes about seven hours. That time is cut to just one hour on a quick charging system. “With operating ranges of more than 100 kilometres, the Canter E-Cell trucks surpassed the average distance that many trucks used in light-duty distribution transport travel each day,” Fuso says.
“Calculated on the basis of today’s cost of diesel fuel and electricity in Portugal, the trial produced savings in operating costs of up to 64 percent compared with a conventional diesel truck,” it says.
“In practical terms, this means a Canter diesel truck burns about 14.08 litres of diesel fuel over a distance of 100 kilometres, depending on set-up and freight, while the FUSO Canter E-Cell consumes 47.6 kWh of electricity over the same distance.”
“The results of the practical tests have shown that we are on the right track. During the trial phase, the customers experienced the Canter E-Cell as a strong and reliable concept that lives up to the requirements of daily urban delivery transport”, said Marc Llistosella, President and CEO of Mitsubishi FUSO Truck and Bus Corporation (MFTBC) and Head of Daimler Trucks Asia
The motor sends 150 hp of power to the rear axle via a one-speed transmission and can carry weight up to 2 tonnes on these electrically powered trucks.