Behind the wheel of Fuso’s ‘financially viable’ hybrid
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By George Barrow
IT’S SAID TO be the first financially viable hybrid truck but, with a premium of £7,250 and a 150kg weight penalty over the regular Fuso Canter 7C15, the 7.5-tonner has a lot of ground to make up.
Power comes from the same Euro-5 147hp, 3-litre diesel engine, only the hybrid Canter incorporates a 40kW motor into the driveline. Situated between the clutch and the Duonic dual-clutch transmission, the motor looks to take the strain away from the engine, lowering revs under acceleration and reducing consumption.
With a 2kWh maximum capacity in the lithium-ion batteries, there isn’t a great deal of energy to call upon – but the Canter functions entirely on electricity up to 10kph, with the lack of audio from the accelerating engine distinctly noticeable. Above 10kph, the electric motor provides a boost to the combustion engine, but delivers no added performance improvement at the rear axle and benefits overall fuel consumption instead. In effect, the 110kW (148hp) output of the dieselengine-only Canter is matched by 40kW (54hp) from the electric motor and 70kW (94hp) from the combustion engine to return the same 110kW output.
It is an effective and seamless system that, besides the lower engine noise, is indiscernible from the regular Canter, but one that is said to use up to 23% less fuel – resulting in an estimated four-year payback.
A dashboard display helpfully indicates whether you are charging the battery or assisting the engine, with up to 100% of the energy lost through braking recovered by the system and used to charge the battery. Best of all, when there is a high state of charge in the battery, the combustion driveline disengages to allow full electric driving at speeds above 10kph, benefitting operations that aren’t just restricted to stop/start scenarios. Annoyingly there is no way of prompting this switch, which seems largely dependant on conditions (ie flat terrain). However, CM managed to enjoy more than 15 seconds of full electric driving at speeds of more than 50kph before the engine resumed.
This is the second generation of the Fuso Canter Eco Hybrid that has been refined for UK and European sales based on feedback from the Japanese market, where hybrid Canters have proved popular. Capacity of the lithium-ion battery has increased by 33%, and the cells come with an optional 10-year warranty or five years as standard.
Maximum payload is slightly reduced, but the total chassis payload is still 4.85 tonnes. It’s already got UK orders to its name and several parcel delivery companies have agreed to trial it, which will almost certainly be converted to orders if the 23% fuel savings stack up.