Daimler’s E-Fuso electric prototype steals some of Tesla’s thunder

Former Tesla shareholder Daimler seems intent on upstaging the upstart with its own electric truck program, reports Bloomberg. Weeks before Tesla is set to unveil its own electric vehicle, Daimler introduced its own model, the E-Fuso Vision One.

A heavy-duty truck intended to run shorter intra-city trips, the E-Fuso Vision One was pitched as a truck with a capacity of “11 tons of cargo” with a range of 220 miles. The company sees this heavy duty truck being released to the European market within 4 years.

Daimler and Tesla got into a Twitter tussle recently over electric vehicle spending. At the Tokyo Motor Show, Daimler issued a statement where it said it is “the frontrunner in electric trucking.” In September, Daimler introduced the eCanter in New York, a lighter-weight electric vehicle specially made for deliveries in the highly-urbanized cities.

Sporting a shade of blue in an electrified glow, the E-Fuso Vision One is “the brainchild of Mitsubishi Fuso Truck and Bus Corporation (MFTBC),” wrote Slash Gear. This also marks the company’s move to launch their next set of electric vehicles “under the E-Fuso name,” said MFTBC CEO Marc Llistosella. With a focus towards manufacturing more emission free EVs, more electric trucks will be expected from in the coming years.

Llistosella took pride in the positive reaction that the eCanter has received.

“With the eCanter, we have proven electric trucks are feasible for commercialization. Today, our eCanter saves up to 1,000 Euros in running costs per 10,000 km,” he said.

Stay up-to-date with the latest commentary and insights on FreightTech and the impact to the markets by subscribing.