E-Fuso concept kicks off Daimler’s electric plans for all trucks, buses

The concept signals Daimler's commitment to offer electric powertrain versions of its entire fleet of trucks and buses, and the company is staking its claim as the first OEM to launch a brand exclusively focused on electric trucks and buses, beating Tesla's much-hyped electric semi truck unveiling by three weeks.

The all-electric truck boasts a range of up to 350 kilometers, or 217 miles, which the company says makes it best suited for regional intra-city deliveries. Thanks to the combination of rising consumer interest, electric-charging infrastructure development and regulatory mandates, Daimler says the electric truck could be introduced within four years in "mature markets" like Japan or Europe under the E-Fuso brand.

"Our E-FUSO Vision One is an outlook on a feasible all-electric heavy-duty truck," Marc Llistosella, Mitsubishi Fuso Truck and Bus Corp.'s president and CEO, said in a statement. "It underlines our commitment to electrify our complete product range."

The Vision One weighs about 23 tons and carries a payload of around 11 tons, 2 tons less than its diesel version. It can be fitted with batteries of up to 300 kWh for its full 350-km range.

Daimler last month made the first deliveries of its eCanter, a battery-powered light-duty commercial truck with a range of roughly 62 miles. It's leasing three of those trucks to UPS and eight more to four New York City-based nonprofits, plus to customers in Japan including 7-Eleven. It plans to limit sales of the eCanter to around 500 units for the first two years of production in anticipation of improvements in battery energy-storage technology. Mitsubishi Fuso says its access to the technical expertise of its parent company — including the batteries it sources from Daimler subsidiary Deutsche Accusative — gives it an edge in electrifying its fleet.