The FUSO eCanter can carry a payload of up to 3.2 tons and has an output of 129 kW (picture credit: DAIMLER)

DB Schenker and FUSO, a Daimler Trucks brand, are expanding their partnership in the field of e-mobility.

DB Schenker will bring a total of 36 additional FUSO eCanter vehicles into operation in eleven European countries, strengthening its sustainability strategy and further expanding the use of electric vehicles in its mixed fleets.

DB Schenker has already been using the FUSO eCanter in Berlin since 2018 delivering packaged goods in the city center. Since 2019, the company has added further vehicles in Paris, Frankfurt and the Stuttgart area.  

“DB Schenker is a pioneer for innovations in logistics, and now we are becoming the leading provider of green logistics. We focus on sustainability, from the first to the last mile,” said Cyrille Bonjean, Head of Land Transport Europe at DB Schenker.

Cyrille Bonjean

He continued: “Emission-free logistics in cities is already possible today, as we are demonstrating throughout Europe together with FUSO and the new eCanter. We are proud that we were able to secure a significant portion of the eCanter production run from this year for us. What that means for our customers: they continue to get the same service but with zero local emissions.” 

Said Hartmut Schick, President and CEO of Mitsubishi Fuso Truck and Bus Corporation (MFTBC) and Head of Daimler Trucks Asia (DTA): “We are very happy to take our partnership with DB Schenker to the next level with these 36 locally emission-free FUSO eCanter trucks.

“Together, we are taking a further step in electrifying urban logistics, contributing to decreased noise and air pollution in major cities across eleven European countries. This announcement represents the biggest eCanter fleet deal to date.”

Emission and noise-free in 20 European cities

FUSO is currently producing the 36 new vehicles for DB Schenker at its European plant in Tramagal, Portugal. In the next few weeks, they will be equipped with box bodies and tail lifts from various bodybuilders, thus rendering them ideal for delivering packaged goods.

For the German market, for example, the bodies are built by Spier in Steinheim who have already a very good collaboration in place with FUSO and the eCanter. The final handovers of the FUSO eCanter vehicles to DB Schenker will start successively before the end of the year at the various locations of the logistics company.

DB Schenker will use the all-electric light-duty trucks with an output of 129 kW and a payload of up to 3.2 tons for urban short-radius distribution in major European cities such as Oslo, Copenhagen, Madrid, Salzburg, Vienna, Hamburg, Rome and Milan.

In total, DB Schenker’s electric light-duty trucks deliver almost silently and with zero emissions to customers in inner-city locations in 20 European cities in Germany, Finland, Denmark, UK, France, Ireland, the Netherlands, Norway, Austria, Spain and Italy.

This also means, the FUSO eCanter will be making its market entries in Finland, Austria, Spain and Italy.

The 7.49-ton truck vehicles boast a range of at least 100 kilometers and are able to cover the requirements of DB Schenker in inner-city short-radius distribution without problem.

The vehicles are charged sovernight either with alternating current or direct current chargers depending on availability. Charging can be reduced to around 90 minutes if a high-speed charger is used.