Gas supplier Calor has added a FUSO eCanter to its fleet for use delivering bottled butane and propane to customers in central London.
The fully electric 7.5-tonne vehicle will be based at Calor’s depot in Wandsworth, south-west London, and will be operating mostly inside the city’s Ultra Low Emission Zone (ULEZ).
Alan Harrison, national vehicle engineering manager at Calor, said, ““Electric power is a new departure for us, so of course we’ll be monitoring the truck very closely. The environmental benefits are clear, but we are also expecting the eCanter to prove highly economical in terms of its total cost of operation. The early signs are certainly promising.”
The vehicle has a body and payload allowance of up to 4.5 tonnes. Its electric drivetrain employs six 420V and 13.8kWh lithium-ion batteries and delivers 180hp via a single-gear transmission in the rear axle.
A single charge gives the eCanter an effective operating range of more than 62 miles. Calor’s vehicle typically covers 30 miles a day, and its batteries are replenished overnight at a recharging point in the depot.
Calor’s eCanter is fitted with a dropside body with safety rails, by SB Components, of Wisbech. Typically, it leaves the depot each morning carrying a 2,370kg load, and remains heavily laden throughout the day, as the driver collects empty gas bottles each time he or she drops off full ones.
