Fuso Canter Truck Celebrates 50th Anniversary

The first generation of the Fuso Canter truck came on the market in March 1963. Fifty years and eight generations later, Daimler is celebrating the truck as a best-selling hit with global sales of more than 3.7 million units since the market launch in its home market Japan. The light-duty Fuso Canter truck is the flagship of the Daimler subsidiary, Mitsubishi Fuso Truck and Bus Corporation (MFTBC), and is in demand by customers in more than 150 countries around the world. The Fuso Canter, which has been produced for the European market in Tramagal, Portugal since 1980, is enjoying growing popularity in Europe.

Since last year, the Fuso Canter truck is also available in Europe as a hybrid variant, which uses up to 23 percent less fuel than a comparable conventional Canter and pays off within three to four years.\

Most recently in Ireland, the economical Fuso Canter Eco Hybrid picked up the “Best Energy Efficient Product Award” at the European “SEAI Energy Show 2013” (Sustainable Energy Authority of Ireland) in Dublin. In addition, the hybrid truck was also honored with the prestigious award “Irish Green Commercial of the Year 2013”. In Japan, the Fuso Canter Eco Hybrid even entered into the history of the prestigious “RJC Car of the Year Award”. This was the first time that the award had ever been presented to a commercial vehicle manufacturer. It was given to the Fuso Canter at the “Automotive Researcher´s and Journalist´s Conference” (RJC) in the end 2012.

“We are proud of the successes we have enjoyed with the Fuso Canter for over five decades”, underlined Dr. Albert Kirchmann, President and CEO of MFTBC. “Fifty years of product history can vouch for the trust and satisfaction our customers have in the Fuso Canter, which stands out with its high fuel efficiency and optimal total cost of ownership.”

Dr. Kirchmann continued: “One focus of our growth strategy ‘FUSO 2015’ is to be ‘Number One’ with customers, especially in the Japanese home market. That is why one main task is to offer our business partners the most fitting products, solutions and services.” In line with this, the company is planning a total of 40 market launches for the current year– including new product variants and new market segments. 

In addition to the fiftieth anniversary of the Fuso Canter truck, the MFTBC subsidiary founded in January 2003 is also celebrating the ten-year company anniversary and the 80th birthday of the Fuso brand, which has been in existence since 1932. MFTBC markets a broad range of products under the well-known commercial vehicle brand Fuso, which include the Canter and Guts light-duty trucks, the medium-duty Fighter truck, the Super Great heavy-duty truck, the Aero Star city bus, and the Aero Queen touring coach.

Brief Profile of the Fuso Canter

The first Canter generation was the Canter T720, a light front-wheel truck with a payload of two tons that came on the Japanese market in March 1963. Since then, more than half a century has gone by. The current model is in its eighth generation and reflects the continuous technological development of the vehicle. The Fuso Canter Eco Hybrid combines maximum fuel efficiency with maximum environmental compatibility, enabled by the innovative combination of the DUONIC dual clutch transmission with hybrid technology. Besides the European markets, the hybrid model will be offered successively in other markets. Since February 2013, the hybrid model is also available in Australia as one of Fuso´s most important sales markets. 

Milestones of the Fuso Canter