The Mitsubishi Fuso Truck and Bus Corporation (MFTBC) has been marketing the Fuso Canter hybrid truck in its home market since July 2006 with 600 vehicles sold in Japan to date. Now however, it is breaking into Europe.
MFTBC has sold 10 Fuso Canter Eco Hybrid trucks to Ireland’s Electricity Supply Board in Dublin – the country’s leading utility company. This order, along with another from Australia for 10 vehicles, represents the first time the company has delivered a Fuso hybrid truck outside Japan. It now hopes to expand its hybrid trucks business into targeted export markets from 2010 onwards.
The Fuso Canter Eco Hybrid is the first series-production hybrid truck sold in Europe. The Electricity Supply Board plans to use the vehicles for customer service and infrastructure maintenance with the Irish Government granting a special permit for Japanese hybrid trucks.
Its leading feature is a parallel hybrid system that significantly reduces both fuel consumption and emissions.
MFTBC sold about 197,700 vehicles during 2008 and is considered one of Asia’s leading commercial vehicle manufacturers. It is part of the Daimler Trucks Division of Daimler AG.
