Rizon expands into Canada

The Daimler Group's electric truck brand Rizon is ready to hit the road in Canada. This comes a few weeks after Rizon delivered the first trucks to customers in the US. Parent company Daimler Truck is also bringing light-duty electric trucks to India.

As in the US, where the electric truck launched about a year ago, the vehicles for the Canadian market are medium-duty US Class 4 and 5 trucks, which tend to be used for short distances such as urban deliveries. Rizon specifies a range of 177 to 257 kilometres, depending on the model and equipment.

Rizon will offer four model variants in Canada, specifically the e16L, e16M, e18L and the e18M. All will be available with “a mix of configurations and options suitable for each customer’s unique requirements” and have a gross vehicle weight (GVW) between 15,995 and 18,850 pounds. According to the manufacturer, the electric vehicles are “ideally suited to a variety of applications such as dry vans, flatbeds, landscape dumps, and reefers.”

Rizon will officially unveil the vehicles at the Truck World in Toronto, with pre-orders set to begin in June 2024.

“Canada is very advanced regarding green energy and infrastructure, and is a natural next step for RIZON’s second market,” says Andreas Deuschle, Global Head of Rizon Truck. “So, we are very happy to bring our zero-emission solution to Canadian customers.”

In addition to expanding into Canada, Daimler Truck also announced that it is entering the light-duty truck segment in the Indian market, launching the eCanter electric light truck there within the next six to twelve months. The eCanter will be Daimler India Commercial Vehicles’ first battery-electric vehicle and the first light-duty truck in its product portfolio.

“The launch of the all-electric eCanter in India, within the next 6 to 12 months, is the first step in our long-term strategy to decarbonize our product portfolio,” says Satyakam Arya, Managing Director & CEO, Daimler India Commercial Vehicles. “However, the reality is that diesel internal combustion engine (ICE) and CO2-neutral propulsion technologies will continue to co-exist in the Indian market for the foreseeable future. Therefore, our initial focus with the eCanter is to achieve product and service excellence, along with customer acceptance.”

The eCanter’s battery-electric platform comes from Daimler Truck’s subsidiary Mitsubishi Fuso Truck and Bus Corporation (MFTBC). The first units were handed over to customers in the US in 2017 and in Europe in 2018. The next generation eCanter celebrated its world premiere in Japan and Europe in September 2022. The next generation eCanter will be offered in various weight classes between 4.25 and 8.55 tonnes in more than 40 variants and numerous body options in the world’s major markets.

rizontruck.com (Canada), daimlertruck.com (India)