Fuso to start Auckland central city e-truck trial

Friday, 14 May 2021

The arrival of six Fuso eCanter all-electric light trucks marks the beginning of a trial by the truck maker, with funding from the government’s Low Emission Vehicles Contestable Fund that is administered by the Energy Efficiency and Conservation Authority (EECA).

The eCanter is the all-electric version of the long-running Mitsubishi Fuso Canter light truck that has been in production since 1960 and is now onto its eighth generation. The eCanter is driven by a 135kW/390Nm permanent synchronous electric motor that is powered by an 81kWh lithium-ion, liquid-cooled battery pack with a range of up to 150km on a single charge.

“The arrival of our breakthrough eCanter trucks to Auckland is a momentous and hugely significant milestone for New Zealand transport,” said Kathy Schluter, Fuso’s general manager of sales and customer experience.

Fuso’s GM of sales and customer experience, Kathy Schluter, says she is hopeful that the ZEA trial will form a benchmark for other businesses who may be considering a transition to sustainable vehicle fleets.

“Fuso’s commitment to the delivery of electric trucks in New Zealand will amplify our country’s renewable electricity advantage, and accelerate the need to decarbonise vehicle fleets to deliver on the Government’s climate change goals.”

* Hydrogen and electric truck trials to be backed by Government

* Auckland Transport unveils fleet of electric buses for new AirportLink service

Five Fuso eCanters will be taking part in the trail, which is expected to start in July.

* Transforming transport for climate is key to reducing emissions in Auckland

The proposed Zero Emissions Area (in pink) is planned to reduce the impact of road transport on city centre air quality.

The company says the arrival of the trucks marks the first tangible milestone of an electric truck trial for inner city deliveries that five of the six new arrivals will be taking part in. The year-long eCanter ZEA (Zero Emissions Area) Auckland City Project is the largest electric truck trial to date held in New Zealand and is expected to start around July this year in Auckland central city.

Fuso New Zealand, in partnership with fleet technology and management company Eroad, is collaborating with major fleet operators Mainfreight, Bidfood, Toll Group, Owens Transport and Vector OnGas on the trail and the operators will use the eCanter trucks for inner-city delivery routes, working with their customers and drivers to “optimise the potential of their trucks, develop insights into optimum scheduling and vehicle capacity, and to identify solutions to any unanticipated barriers to electric truck operation in the proposed Zero Emissions Area (ZEA).”

Auckland Transport chief executive Shane Ellison at the launch of the AirportLink service, part of AT’s rollout of electric buses.

“The high-density urban environment the trucks will operate in will be a robust test ground,” said EECA’s transport portfolio manager, Richard Briggs.

“The trial will demonstrate how these trucks perform, and reveal associated lower costs, such as expected reduced maintenance and servicing. Importantly, the project will give an insight into how participating businesses will operate their trucks considering the different work profiles for each vehicle, scheduling runs around the need to charge, and the behavioural aspects of going electric.”

The proposed ZEA is part of the Auckland City Centre Masterplan, which sets out to address the city centre's air pollution problem by reducing internal combustion engine vehicles and was kicked off in 2017 when Auckland Mayor Phil Goff attended the City Labs C40 meeting in Paris, where he signed the Fossil Fuel Free Streets (FFFS) declaration alongside mayors from major cities including Paris, London, Los Angeles and Mexico City to procure only zero-emission buses from 2025 and creating a ZEA in the city centre by 2030.

Auckland’s highest air pollution levels are observed in the central city – home to more than 57,000 permanent residents, workplace to 120,000 and visited by 200,000 people every day – and measurements having exceeded national and global regulatory guidelines for nitrogen dioxide and particulate matter, including black carbon. The latest trend data shows pollution concentrations in the city centre are increasing significantly.

With buses being a large part of the problem, Auckland Transport has already moved to introduce a zero-emission bus fleet, while waste collection companies such as Waste Management and Civic Contractors have been investing in electric rubbish collection trucks and street sweepers.

Back when the ZEA proposal was announced in 2019 Drive Electric chairman, Mark Gilbert said that the focus on commercial vehicles came at a good time.

“It's common knowledge that the lower part of Queen Street is quite polluted. Diesel buses get a lot of the blame, but there are a lot of other diesel vehicles entering and exiting the city, plus ships coming into port contribute also,” Gilbert said.

“Given all the investment that's going on to improve the city centre to make it more liveable, I think having a program to achieve a cleaner atmosphere down at the bottom of town makes good sense. And that means ultimately, the diesel vehicles will have to go.”

Fuso New Zealand says that Auckland Transport has been an “essential endorser” of the company’s contribution to the ZEA trial, and Auckland Transport’s chief executive, Shane Ellison, says he is confident that the learnings obtained from operating eCanters in the area will help to fast track the Auckland City Centre Masterplan,

“Auckland Transport has a vision of a low-emissions transport network and Fuso’s e-Canter trial project has real potential to contribute to this goal. We are thrilled to support this exciting trial,” he said.

“The trial will provide evidence to support the Auckland Transport and Waka Kotahi business cases, legislative change and policy implementation planning required for Auckland to successfully implement the ZEA, not to mention provide confidence to freight operators that they can, and should, continue their businesses with electric trucks.”