With states like California requiring 50 percent of all new commercial vehicles to be zero emission roughly 12 years from now, manufacturers of these heavy- and medium-duty trucks are adapting right now. The latest is a new brand of all-electric Class 4 and Class 5 vehicles called Rizon from Daimler Truck. This California-based brand will offer three trucks that range from 15,995 up to 17,995 pounds in gross vehicle weight (GVW), with the heaviest truck getting a triple battery pack good for up to 160 miles on a single charge.
When it comes to electrification of commercial trucks, Daimler Trucks isn’t behind in the game. Its portfolio of brands covers a range of commercial vehicles from light-duty to heavy-duty Class 8 trucks like the Freightliner eCascadia. With this new Rizon brand, it will now offer more options in medium-duty Class 4 and 5 vehicles by Q4 of 2023.
The main driver of the Rizon brand stems from Mitsubishi Fuso—which Daimler Truck owns—pulling its medium-duty trucks from the U.S. market back in 2020. There was a test lease program that completed using the Mitsubishi Fuso eCanter in 2022 and helped prove the viability of selling an all-electric medium-duty commercial truck.
When completed later this year, Rizon will offer three trucks called the e18L, e16L and e16M. The “M” and “L” refer to the battery pack sizes, with M having two packs with a combined capacity of 83 kWh and capable of driving up to 110 miles on a single charge; the L is a three pack combo that equals 124 kWh for up to 160 miles.
Of course, weather, driving conditions, style, use cases, and more will all play factors for the actual full range these trucks will get. The good news is that, rather than rely only on Level 2 AC charging, the Rizon brand will use the J1772 CCS combo charger port to allow for both AC and DC Fast Charging. The release doesn’t specify what voltage the packs operate at nor the DC Fast Charging rate Rizon trucks will be able to charge at, but we have reached out to find out more.
They will also be outfitted to work in a variety of typical medium-duty applications like flatbeds, dump beds, reefers (refrigerated cargo box), dry vans and more. The other bonus is that these medium-duty trucks don’t look out of place, they look like trucks you see now and that could be a good thing for buyers who want an electric without it standing out like a sore thumb. The main target of Rizon trucks are those involved in urban areas with short drives and stop-and-go situations. This means it will concentrate its sales on retail logistics, last-mile deliveries, and municipal work. They will also have many driver assist technologies like Active Brake Assist, Active Side Guard Assist, and other urban area and commercial truck specialty ADAS features.
Despite that, Rizon will also expand beyond the Southwest as Velocity also has locations in Kentucky, Tennessee, Alabama, and North Carolina, as well as build new facilities beyond its current footprint. Rizon trucks will also carry a five year, 75,000 mile warranty on the powertrain, chassis, and cab (which Daimler Truck claims is “class-leading”) and the battery packs will have a warranty for five years or 120,000 miles.
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