Australia Post goes electric, just in time for Christmas deliveries

Australia Post has welcomed the first of 20 electric trucks to its national delivery fleet, just in time to begin Christmas parcels to customers across Melbourne.

Three new Fuso eCanters have been delivered to Australia Post, the first of 20 that Australia Post ordered back in September. The Daimler-developed Fuso eCanter was originally trialled by Australia’s postal service in late-2019 and obviously met with approval.

Australia Post already operates more than 2,100 electric delivery vehicles and 1,400 electric bicycles, part of its short-term science-based target of reducing overall emissions by 15% by 2025 based on 2019 levels.

“We’re very proud to be Australia’s largest electric fleet operator, but up until this point our electric fleet has consisted solely of smaller delivery vehicles that are used for the last-mile,” said James Dixon, Australia Post general manager for networks.

“We’ve trialled a range of electric trucks previously, but the Fuso eCanter is the first we’ve found that suits both Australian conditions and our unique operational needs.”

The Fuso eCanter is the only Original Equipment Manufacturer (OEM) electric truck available in Australia and uses the latest technology from the Daimler Truck group, which first acquired a stake in Mitsubishi Fuso Truck and Bus Corporation back in 2003 and now owns nearly 90%.

With a gross vehicle weight of 7.49-tonnes and a permanent magnet motor with 129kW peak output, the Fuso eCanter houses 6 batteries with a combined 82.8kWh and 66kWh of usable power. Boasting a range of approximately 100 kilometres, the Fuso eCanter will operate in two body configurations.

The remaining 17 eCanters are currently expected to be delivered early 2022 and will begin rolling out into major capital cities.

We know that every delivery has a carbon footprint which is why we’re committed to reducing our emissions through growing our electric fleet and increasing our renewable energy production to help power these new vehicles,” Australia Post chief sustainability officer Susan Mizrahi said.

Australia Post has committed to ensuring that any emissions generated by the electricity usage from the Fuso eCanter will be offset through the purchase of renewable energy certificates.