Next-gen Fuso eCanter revealed

Japanese truck maker Fuso has released the first details of its next-generation eCanter, the brand’s battery-electric light-duty truck.

The Daimler-owned company has released a photography of prototype models in camouflage undergoing testing at the Kitsuregawa Proving Ground in Japan, as the product edges its way towards over one million test kilometres.

Initially launched in 2017, Mitsubishi Fuso Truck and Bus Corporation (MFTBC) says the next instalment of the emissions free platform will be expanded to encompass more transportation needs, and comes as part of a wider push towards greater investment in electromobility and EV-focused testing facilities.

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The company says the updated eCanter will come with a greater range and extra safety features, and will be offered in a greater array of variants to suit more applications.

“The truck has being tested under severe conditions in both hot and cold climates, both domestically and abroad,” says the company, with a total of over one million kilometres to be completed prior to the truck’s launch.

Over 350 eCanters have been pressed into service across Japan, Europe, the US, Australia, and New Zealand, the trucks collectively covering over 4.5 million kilometres.

Following Fuso’s earlier announcement that it plans to electrify all new models for the Japanese market by 2039, the company has increased its investment in EV development infrastructure, installing high-voltage fast chargers, an EV workshop, and battery test benches.

"We are proceeding with the development of electrified vehicles and further expanding our EV-dedicated infrastructure,” said Hironobu Ando, Vice President and Head of Product Engineering.

“Our ultimate goal is to achieve CO2-neutrality in our commercial vehicles. Through this ambition, we hope to contribute to the sustainability of not only our customers' businesses, but also that of society as a whole.”