T&FME joined Mitsubishi’s Fuso’s Sustainability Mobility Forum last month and was told that the Japanese brand and its parent company Daimler are going full speed ahead as they try to win the race to zero emissions.
Driving its development programme and its progress to date are the deliveries of its all-electric light-duty truck FUSO eCanter out in customer fleets across four continents.
Having now surpassed the 300 vehicle unit mark, the electric truck is now in service with customers in sixteen countries and cities such as New York, Tokyo, Berlin, London, Amsterdam, Paris, Dublin, Oslo, Copenhagen, Helsinki and Auckland.
With companies such as DB Schenker and IKEA counting eCanters amongst their ranks, the firm “says trust in the reliable urban delivery truck mean more deliveries are set to follow”.
According to Daimler, the distance traveled in daily customer operations now exceeds a combined 4 million kilometers driven locally emission free – equivalent to around 100 circumventions of planet earth or a little over five trips to the moon and back.
The FUSO eCanter provides a 100 kilometre range with a single charge, making the 7.49t vehicle perfectly suited for zero-emission and quiet inner-city distribution.
As of November 2021, more than 40 vehicles were so far delivered in the United States, approximately 75 trucks in Japan and another 190+ FUSO eCanter in Europe. Earlier in 2021, the all-electric light-duty truck was introduced to Australia and New Zealand, expanding the vehicles success story and adding two more major FUSO markets to the roster.
Since the launch of the eCanter in 2017, FUSO has been able to stake its claims as a pioneer and leader in electric trucks. Daimler Trucks has placed the LCV at the centre of its sustainability strategy but in broader terms wants the FUSO to be an example to the commercial vehicle industry into the future. It believes the eCanter can play a significant role toward achieving carbon neutral transportation as part of its aim to have all new vehicles in the Triad (Europe, North America, and Japan) “tank-to-wheel” CO2-neutral by 2039.
Although 300 eCanter vehicles are on the road globally, Alexander Loesing, chief transformation officer MFTBC, says the vehicles themselves are only part of the story.
“We are going to try to electrify our whole range of product segments, and with that, we are trying to provide an extensive ecosystem to enable the customer on their journey to carbon neutrality,” he says. “Already in the power mix the eCanter gives a 44% reduction in CO2 output compared to diesel. Fast forward to 2030, and we will see a higher mix of renewable energy sources and that increase will go down to 56% less polluting. We are working on an extensive ecosystem – and with that there is not really a one-size-fits-all solution for the customer.
“With the right infrastructure you can go up to 250km per day, (so) you have to really have to really work with the customer to understand their operations. For example, they may need an AC or DC charger. And in the future, we also want to consult on energy contracts: if a customer wants to go fully renewable energy, we want to provide that. We want to give the best contract for the use-case. Another vision we have is to have a green depot.”
He explains that could mean Fuso providing solar panels on the building, battery storage systems, “And have that connected to the charging management system of the vehicle to really have a ‘local for local’ net zero mission depot.”
The company has also put a lot energy and resources into digital solutions that manage the energy use and productivity of an eCanter fleet via its Truckonnect telematics platform.
“We have constant vehicle monitoring, predictive maintenance and every 30 seconds we are monitoring the vehicle to make sure it is running in the ideal condition,” he explains, adding that the company is also a front-runner in dynamic routing solutions which plot the best route for a vehicle in real-time.
Loesing says that in Japan this is helping to reduce the dreaded downtime need for charging with customers like IKEA experiencing a 20% gain in logistics routing.
“All of this has a significant on CO2 output,” he claims. “We see roughly a 15% CO2 output reduction by using a smart solution.”
Fuso happily admits that while the numbers are great on paper they haven’t yet translated into huge sales, but this is part of a strategy to work with early adopters to learn how best to develop the eCanter over the next decade.
“We are continuously collecting data and feedback from over 150 vehicles on the road in the European market. This feedback and experience and flows directly into the ongoing development of the next generation of the eCanter,” he adds.
“Contrary to cars, EV sales are picking up strongly but the trucking industry in Europe is still in its early stages. We are happy to be one of the frontrunners since 2018 with a vehicle that basically offers the same benefits as the diesel version,” says Frank Rohde, Fleet Sales, FUSO Europe. “So far, there are not many truck players in the market and the vehicle represents a big investment for our customers. Entrepreneurs are more and more willing to test the new technology although moving into emobility, currently comes with a price premium compared to the conventional vehicles,” says adding that future purchase decisions could be boosted the role of government incentives.
Demand is picking up for tippers, but the box units, often deployed for daily inner-city distribution, remain the most popular models among early adopters, like DB Schenker, Taxa and Heinenken. Rohde says that these fleets often see the eCanter as part of a holistic approach to trying out sustainable transportation in a mix that can include electric vans, heavy duty trucks, and cargo bikes.
DB Schenker is currently running the single largest eCanter fleet in the world. Its 41 eCanter vehicles are in daily operation across 11 countries in Europe and its head of land transport Cyril Bonjean, explains that the organisation is mainly using them for last mile delivery in city centres.
“We have quality as our main priority, which means that we need to deliver goods in good shape, of course, but also in the right lead time; we have the fastest network in Europe and we are really proud of that,” he begins.
The eCanter has joined a fleet of 45,000 trucks which collectively deliver 1 million shipments per year. He says that while their share of that workload maybe relatively small, the electric trucks are helping it to learn how it will build a far larger fleet in the future.
Most critically, feedback from drivers from has been largely positive with them praising the small truck for its quietness and lack of vibration.
“Our drivers now know how to use trucks in different conditions, but we have high ambitions in increasing the number of electric vehicles,” he says, adding that the company forsees a point where they will work in tandem with a hydrogen-powered long-haul fleet as it aims to be CO2 neutral by 2040. “This technology is a bit new but we are piloting it and have set huge and important targets.”
IKEA is also doing the necessary groundwork to prove that electric mobility can be successful in markets that struggles with driver retention and recruitment. The world’s largest home furnishing firm estimates that it is responsible for 0.1% of global CO2 emissions and wants to be net zero by 2050. The first target is a 70% reduction by 2030 and it has committed to not using any carbon offsetting and will only use renewable or recycled materials in all of its products by that date. Its home delivery operation is also undergoing a radical programme of emission reductions and it has already deployed electric vehicles in 100 cities – and all of its deliveries in cities like Amsterdam and Shanghai (in China, 90% of all of last mile deliveries are conducted by electric vehicles) are carried out using electric vehicles.
“We’ve committed to carry out all last mile home, deliveries using zero emission vehicles in all of our markets, by 2025,” explains Stefan Hofer, country fulfillment manager, IKEA Japan. “We have the same commitment for IKEA Japan as well. And we see that this is an important way that we, as a business, can contribute to not just reduce our climate impact, but also reduce air pollution, and help reduce noise pollution in the cities.”
To cover its total transportation needs in Tokyo, IKEA needs to be running a fleet of up to 25 trucks. The three eCanters (two it owns, a third is operated by its local transport service provider) it currently runs are just the start in its ramping up of its electric delivery fleet.
“We use our two eCanters to replenish our city shops from the parents store in Kiyoko. We have city shops in Harajuku, Shibuya and Shinjuku and we move goods from the main store using the eCanter in a replishment operation,” Hofer says. “We charge these trucks at
IKEA Kiyoko overnight and we operate between Yokohama and the city centre of Tokyo. The third truck conducts customer handled by our transport service partner; and the route that that truck takes is determined based on the number of deliveries, as well as the location of customers for that day.”
He continues: “Based on the route planning, we deliver to customers in a certain parts of Chiba, Tokyo and Saitama; that truck is charged overnight at the Service Partners facility. And if needed during operation at the Mitsubishi Fuso service centre.”
Like DB Schenker’s Cyril Bonjean earlier comments, driver feedback to Hofer has been positive.
“The powerful engine allows for very smooth operations. And at the same time of vibration and noise are reduced significantly compared to a regular combustion engine vehicle,” he remarks. “This has had a very positive impact on customers, our neighbours, as well as the city residential areas where many of our customers are living.”
While Fuso admits that the cost of the trucks are initially more expensive than traditional fleet alternatives, Hofer reveals that operational costs are where the electric vehicle scores highly.
“When we look at maintenance and power consumption, they’re actually lower than a traditional combustion engine vehicles. So this is another good thing for our operations.
He concludes: “But of greatest importance is the response of our co-workers: the very positive response that they’ve given us on the operational performance and the fact that it’s less stressful driving with the eCanter. As we see sales volumes increasing and we see IKEA expanding further into the cities and beyond over the coming years, we will see a growth in the number of people who are purchasing online and that will mean that there will be a bigger need for vehicles like the eCanter in the fleet operation.
“We were an official partner of the COP-26 that was recently held in Glasgow and we believe that strong collaboration really is the only way forward to tackle climate change on zero-emission transportation. We are very happy to have Mitsubishi Fuso as a partner, to co-create, and collaborate for a better future. It is only possible when all of us take action together.”
