Fuso eCanter Proves Cold-Weather Performance in Finland
Two Fuso eCanters have been operating in Finland since the beginning of 2024 for Europe’s largest fleet operator, DB Schenker. Electric preconditioning helps maintain range performance in frigid weather conditions near the Arctic Circle.
Two new Mitsubishi Fuso eCanters are making deliveries in Finland near the Arctic Circle for German logistics company DB Schenker.
Photo: Daimler Truck
2 min to read
German logistics company DB Schenker has integrated two new 7.5-tonne Mitsubishi Fuso eCanters into its fleet in Finland in January 2024 for daily operations in one of Europe’s coldest regions.
Ad Loading...
One unit has been making last-mile deliveries in Kuusamo, a northeastern city that experiences heavy snow accumulation and temperatures as low as -30° C (-22° F). This vehicle is currently one of MFTBS’s northernmost electric trucks in operation to date. Another unit is deployed in Oulu, about 200 kilometers (124 miles) southwest of Kuusamo.
Ad Loading...
Driving the Fuso eCanter in the Cold of Finland
DB Schenker previously integrated 50 earlier model eCanters into its operations across Europe. The company said its decision to deploy its first two new eCanters in these locations was a conscious one with an interest in dispelling preconceptions about using electric trucks in cold climates.
Drivers at DB Schenker’s Kuusamo hub have logged more than 1,200 kilometers with the eCanter in recent weeks making deliveries to customers and report excellent performance. The vehicle starts flawlessly despite the prevailing low temperatures, the company said.
The eCanter’s electric preconditioning brings the battery to ideal temperatures before operation.
Photo: Daimler Truck
Electric Preconditioning is a Key Advantage in Cold Environment
One important aspect of the eCanter’s operations being undertaken in Finland is electric preconditioning, which brings the battery to ideal temperatures before operation.
Preconditioning is a function available with the new eCanter that allows a user to pre-heat the eCanter’s battery with power from the grid instead of from the battery before the start of a journey.
This enables the vehicle to operate at an improved performance, even though the ambient temperature is cold.
Ad Loading...
Sustainable Logistics as a Strategy for DB Schenker
For Harald Knaapinen, head of land transport Finland at DB Schenker, the use of the Fuso eCanter is also part of the strategy:
“Together with our customers, we also want to play a pioneering role in sustainable logistics in Finland. To reduce CO2 emissions, such an investment in electric transportation is essential for us. In Finland, parcel transportation accounts for a large proportion of pick-up and delivery traffic,” Knaapinen said. “The current eCanter is the ideal vehicle for this application. And the deployment of the two vehicles in northern Finland with its extreme weather conditions is a unique opportunity for us, basically an ultimate test.”
DB Schenker was one of the first eCanter customers in Europe and introduced the predecessor of the current eCanter model into its fleets in Germany, France, and other European countries several years ago, starting in Berlin in 2018. Today, 52 Fuso eCanter, the current model and its predecessor, operate for DB Schenker in Europe.
With 250 electric refuse trucks now in service, Republic Services is learning that scaling a new powertrain depends as much on routes, drivers, technicians, and daily operations as it does on the truck itself.
Volvo Trucks North America and the Bronx Is Breathing project team handed over three new Volvo VNR Electric trucks to City Harvest, which will use the trucks to rescue and deliver food throughout the Bronx and across all five boroughs of New York.
Volvo Trucks' global heavy-duty electric range has been named International Truck of the Year 2027. Since 2019, more than 7,000 electric Volvo trucks have driven more than 310 million miles worldwide.
New one-day registration gives fleet professionals the flexibility to attend Tuesday, Wednesday, or Thursday, with passes available for $199 through Sept. 18.
CALSTART has rebranded as Catalyst Mobility and will combine with Forth at the start of 2027. The new organization said it is poised to become one of the world's largest, strongest, and most impactful clean transportation nonprofits.
Together, the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey and CALSTART will electrify drayage and terminal operations serving the East Coast’s busiest container port. A pair of incentive programs totaling $45 million has launched to accelerate adoption of zero-emission drayage trucks and terminal tractors.
Mixed-energy fleets aren’t about picking a winning fuel. Sarah Booth of WEX explains how vehicle data, duty cycles, charging strategy, and real-world costs can help fleets choose the right energy source for each job.
A single Xos Hub has surpassed one gigawatt-hour of energy across more than 33,600 charging sessions in the field, demonstrating performance that supports Xos' expansion across new products and markets.
Carrier Transicold’s first engineless multi-temperature TRU helps fresh- and frozen-food fleets add supplemental cold storage capacity during seasonal peaks.
Narro Trucks officially launched its operations on Aug. 20 and hosted a ride and drive to showcase its electric truck, which will be produced in Virginia.
