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  • QUENCHING THIRST - GETRÄNKE FRIEDRICH DELIVERS TO CUSTOMERS 100 PERCENT ELECTRICALLY WITH THE FUSO eCANTER

“Getränke Friedrich” from Seligenstadt in the German state of Hesse has been making its home deliveries for private customers for a year now using an all-electric FUSO Next Generation eCanter – time to take stock.

“I just think we need to look after our environment a little. At the very least, everyone should try to act more sustainably. In those areas where it can be done well,” says Peter Friedrich, owner of the eponymous drinks retailer, explaining his decision to opt for a fully electric delivery vehicle. The intended use is ideal in this case, as the company uses the FUSO eCanter to deliver drinks to its customers within a radius of 20 kilometers around Seligenstadt.

The drinks retailer gave some thought to the idea of no longer using a combustion engine for his delivery service. To this end, he first looked at the usual routes and the mileage required. “Our home delivery service is a regional service where we don’t cover long distances either way. Plus or minus 40 kilometers a day, that’s what our observations showed. So we quickly realized that we could easily manage this with an electric vehicle,” he explains.

The FUSO eCanter has everything on the wish list

In addition to the minimum range, there were a few other important criteria, which is why the subsequent extensive online search for a suitable vehicle only produced one really interesting hit: the new FUSO eCanter, which had just started series production in 2023.

Peter Friedrich didn’t have to go far with his request, because Robert Kunzmann GmbH & Co. KG in Aschaffenburg, where the three Mercedes-Benz Sprinter panel vans in his fleet already come from, is also an official FUSO sales and service partner. Salesman Steffen Horn was delighted with the inquiry and immediately arranged a consultation appointment: “I’m a fan of e-mobility myself and am naturally happy to pass this on to my customers. The company Getränke Friedrich was our first interested party when it came to the eCanter,” he recalls. The only problem was that a demonstration vehicle was unfortunately not yet available at the time.

But the offer that Steffen Horn was able to make with the FUSO eCanter 4S15e was convincing. Not only is it battery-powered, but it also met all the other requirements that were important to Peter Friedrich.

I'm a fan of e-mobility myself and am naturally happy to pass this on to my customers. The company Getränke Friedrich was our first interested party when it came to the eCanter
Steffen Horn, Salesman

Class B driving license, payload, body options and positive customer feedback

“First and foremost, I wanted a vehicle that could be driven with a class B car driver’s license,” explains the beverage retailer. The slim and handy 4.25-ton eCanter made this possible for him. “Drivers with a truck driver’s license are simply hard to find for this job,” he explains. The payload was also important to him – after all, crates of drinks are heavy. The model with the chosen equipment has a payload of just under 1200 kg. That was just right. In order to get the maximum out of it, the decision was also made in favor of the smallest battery option S with one battery. Its 41.3 kWh capacity still promises a range of up to 70 kilometers and, according to the route analysis, more was not necessary anyway.

The eCanter also scores highly when it comes to body flexibility, as Peter Friedrich only considered a flatbed with sliding tarpaulin. “When making home deliveries, you often park on the kerb and have to be able to get to the load quickly and easily on the passenger side. I pull up the tarpaulin and have full access. A panel van has proven to be rather impractical for us,” he describes. In addition, the eCanter’s conveniently low loading sill, which is only around 85 mm high, is also ergonomic for the driver when unloading by hand.

“As you can see, we were able to combine all the practical benefits of the eCanter into an ideal package. What’s more, an electric vehicle makes sense here in more ways than one. In terms of the routes, but also because Mr. Friedrich has equipped his hall roofs with photovoltaics and can conveniently charge on site,” describes salesman Steffen Horn, adding with a laugh, ”but the final argument was probably the videos I recorded at the sales training course last year. Seeing the driving experience literally electrified Mr. Friedrich.”

The entrepreneur therefore ordered the eCanter straight away and since February last year, Getränke Friedrich’s home delivery service has been 100% electric – which was of course mentioned on the new vehicle’s sticker. “Our customers notice the eCanter, ask the driver ‘The truck is completely electric? Really?’ and give us positive feedback,” says the boss, not without a certain pride.

It is so maneuverable, handy, agile, can get anywhere, can park anywhere. We really like that. It's exactly what we need for the job.
Peter Friedrich owner of “Getränke Friedrich”

The FUSO eCanter is practical for everyday use and made for the job

The eCanter currently has around 6,000 kilometers on the clock and even if a defect in the main display briefly slowed down the rolling sustainability project, the eCanter has now proven itself in practice, as Peter Friedrich finds: “We’re doing well with the range. In the warehouse, where the vehicle is reloaded after the first tour of the morning, we can easily recharge thanks to the wallbox. We do this in the cold season because the heating is an additional consumer, but in summer it wasn’t necessary at all.”

But it’s not just the range that works in everyday use, the eCanter also impresses with its typical features. “It is so maneuverable, handy, agile, can get anywhere, can park anywhere. We really like that,” says the drinks retailer. His conclusion so far is: “It’s exactly what we need for the job.” For this reason, Peter Friedrich can well imagine ordering another eCanter at the end of the three-year lease and concludes: “Maybe even a second one if the order situation is right.”

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