Mercedes-Benz has high hopes for hybrid Canter
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By Win Shiers MERCEDES-BENZ hopes to sell 100 Fuso Canter Eco Hybrids in the UK in 2013, and expects customers to see a 23% improvement in fuel economy and achieve a payback in four years.
Speaking to more than 100 UK operators at the launch of what the manufacturer is calling "the first financially viable hybrid truck", truck sales and marketing director Sam Whittaker revealed details of an extensive UK trial that has just been concluded.
Over a three-year period, 10 Canter Eco Hybrid 7C15s were operated in London by hauliers including TNT and DIAL. Trucks were monitored for 335,000km, averaged 12.7mph and consumed 52,651 litres of diesel. The average fuel consumption was 18mpg (the best being 20.3mpg). This equated to an average improvement in fuel economy of 10.7% over a diesel model, with the best vehicle achieving 16.2%.
He claimed these figures would have been improved by a further 5.7% if the trucks had been fitted with the same anti-idling technology that production trucks have.
Further gains are expected to be made by recent design developments, like the addition of the Duonic automatic transmission.
Whittaker is confident that these improvements will result in a further boost to fuel economy and that, if used in the correct application, the Canter Eco Hybrid will be 23% more fuelefficient than an equivalent dieselpowered Canter.
At this rate, the £7,200 added cost of the Hybrid can be recouped in just over four years. He says immediate savings can be made if customers opt for the 60-month contract hire deal.
"You won't run these purely as a green statement," he said. "You will run them because they will save you money."
Gulliver's Truck Hire national business development manager Barry Fulls, who was at the event, was impressed with the overall package. The company runs a number of conventional Canters, and expects to experience a demand for the hybrid version too. "I think it will prove popular with local authorities and customers operating in urban areas," he said.
FACT FILE Model: Fuso Canter Eco Hybrid 7C15 Price premium over diesel equivalent: £7,200 Engine: 3-litre turbocharged 150hp; 370Nm at 1,32Orpm-2,84Orpm Electric motor: 40kW and 200Nm from start-up Batteries: Lithium-ion, 7.5Ah Transmission: Duonic six-speed dual-clutch Payload penalty over diesel equivalent: 170kg Battery life: 10-year guarantee Built in: Portugal