The presence of electric trucks in New Zealand is about to get a major charge, with the imminent arrival of the world's first series production etruck, FUSO's eCanter…in big numbers.
The battery-electric version of the light-duty Canter will be launched here in August – with the first batch of the etrucks scheduled to arrive in December…and go on the road in January.
FUSO – Daimler Trucks' Japanese make and its electric truck specialist – has approved 100 or more eCanters for NZ.
It's a remarkable development in the carefully-planned release of the eCanter, which to date has had high-profile launches in some of the world's biggest cities – New York, Tokyo, London, Berlin, Amsterdam and a handful of others.
The eCanter had its first Australasian public showing at last month's Brisbane Truck Show, where FUSO Australia said it was being launched there…but gave no timeline. 
Fuso NZ managing director Kurtis Andrews says that the parent company carefully weighed the NZ launch: "They said, 'well, NZ's a long way away…but the government's got subsidies, the country is green, it has 100% renewable energy. So there's no reason why we wouldn't." The eCanter and NZ is, Andrews reckons, "a perfect fit." 
He says that launching the eCanter here is "a once in a lifetime opportunity, I'd say. The next once in a lifetime opportunity is an autonomous vehicle – and that's probably not that far away…but electric is the first step."
The early approval for the Kiwi market is also the result of "a lot of push" from Fuso NZ – and persistent pressure from companies wanting to buy eCanters. 
Andrews fully expects the initial NZ allocation to quickly sell out: "There are 'plenty' coming, but I'd suggest – from the phone calls we get every week from someone inquiring about eCanter – they'll go like hot-cakes.
"I guess in the truck world, for people to be excited about product – and to actually ring you and chase you and make you agree that they'll have one of the first – is really unusual.
"We've got about five fleets talking (about buying) 10-plus trucks.
"Certainly some big corporates are keen to join this electric revolution and it's good to have eCanter, which has essentially been around for 10 years."
Andrews says that "certainly the big fleets that have been in touch – our really good customers who we know are into it – will be the first on the list (in terms of allocating the initial supply of eCanters)." 
The electric FUSO will make its NZ public debut at August's EVworld NZ expo in Auckland. The show truck, which will have a body on it, will then be available for interested customers to "test in a real-world environment….to get a taste of it, reconfirm their commitment."
The 7.5 tonne eCanter has almost car-like acceleration, courtesy of its six high-voltage lithium-ion batteries, each storing 13.8 kilowatt hours of power at 420 volts.
The truck has 175 horsepower and 390Nm of constant power output, giving it a top speed of 80km/h and a 3.5t payload capability. It has a 100km-plus range between charges.
FUSO says that the eCanter's operating costs "can be as much as €1000 (approximately $NZ1711) lower for each 10,000kms driven," compared to a comparable diesel-engined FUSO.