The Mitsubishi Fuso Canter is a line of light-duty commercial vehicles built by Mitsubishi Fuso Truck and Bus Corporation, part of Daimler Truck. Production began in 1963 and the truck is now in its eighth generation; it is sold in more than 150 countries and has been built as a hybrid and as the electric eCanter.
Mitsubishi Fuso Canter at a glance
| Maker | Mitsubishi Fuso Truck and Bus Corporation |
|---|---|
| Owner | Daimler Truck, subsidiary of the Mercedes-Benz Group |
| Production | since 1963, eight generations |
| Name | after the gait of a horse |
| First generation | T720, 2 tons payload |
| First engines | 90 PS KE42 petrol, 68 PS 4DQ11A diesel |
| Japanese rivals | Isuzu Elf, Toyota Dyna, Nissan Atlas |
| Biggest export market | Indonesia, as Colt Diesel until 2022 |
| Factories | Japan, Chennai, Tramagal; CKD assembly in several countries |
| Electric version | eCanter |
Based on one source: the English Wikipedia article on the Mitsubishi Fuso Canter.
History of the Mitsubishi Fuso Canter
A thoroughbred name
The Canter is named after the English word for the gait of a horse, emphasising the thoroughbred nature of Mitsubishi trucks. In Japan its traditional competitors are the Isuzu Elf, Toyota Dyna and Nissan Atlas. Early exports went only to South-East Asia, but the series soon reached Australia, New Zealand and the Near East and, from the mid-1980s, North America. Indonesia, where it was called Colt Diesel until 2022, became the biggest export market, followed by the Near East and Taiwan, and in total the Canter is marketed in more than 150 countries.
Fuso runs factories in Japan, Chennai in India and Tramagal in Portugal, with further assembly from CKD kits in Egypt, Portugal, Jakarta, the Philippines, Malaysia, Turkey and Russia. The Tramagal plant supplies Western Europe with a local sourcing rate of 50 per cent.
The first generations
The first Canter, the T720, replaced the T710 built from 1960 to 1963. It had two round single headlights, replaced on the 1964 facelift by twin round units, and with a 2-ton payload it used either a 90 PS KE42 petrol engine or a 68 PS 4DQ11A diesel.
The second generation appeared in 1968 with the 4DR1 diesel of 55 kW and two petrol options: the T91 kept the 90 PS KE42, while long-wheelbase T93 and T97 models received a 2.3-litre KE47 with 95 PS. The most common diesel was the T90, on a short or long wheelbase, with a dual rear wheel version sold as the T92, and in July 1970 a 2.7-litre 4DR5 diesel of 59 kW was added.
The third generation, the T200, was split between diesel T200 and T210 models with the 80 PS 4DR5 and T205 and T215 petrols with the 2,315 cc 100 PS KE47, while the 1,995 cc 95 PS KE42 remained available. In January 1975 the petrol engines were replaced by the 4G52 of 1,995 cc and 100 PS and the 4G53 of 2,384 cc and 110 PS. Various wheelbases and bed heights were offered, along with a 3-ton payload version.
From the fourth generation the Canter gained 2- and 3-ton wide-cabin variants in Japan. Power steering for the wide models became an option in February 1980, and at the end of that year a narrow 1.5-ton and a wide 3.5-ton version followed. New diesels arrived in November 1982: the indirect-injection 4D30 with 90 PS and the direct-injection 4D31 with 115 PS, naturally aspirated or turbocharged, although some sources give higher gross ratings of 100 and 130 PS. A 1.5-ton Walk Through Van completed the range in December 1983.
A truck for every market
As the range grew, so did the number of names and specifications. From the fifth generation the Japanese Fighter Mignon was exported as the Canter 75, Canter HD or Canter FH, the seventh generation offered a twin rear axle Canter, and since 2018 the Nissan NV350 has been exported to the Near East as the Canter Van. Today there are two line-ups in parallel, the eighth generation and the General Export Models, each with narrow or wide variants from 3.5 to 8.5 tons gross weight, including the 1.5-ton Canter Guts for Japanese compact-vehicle rules.
Naming differs by market: in Japan a Canter 15 carries 1.5 tons of payload, while the same truck in Europe is a Canter 35 by its 3.5-ton gross weight; Indonesia uses chassis codes such as FE71 and FE83, and North America uses hecto-pounds, so an FE130 is a 13,000 lb truck. In 2010, still with the seventh generation, the Tramagal plant introduced Iveco F1C diesel engines from Fiat Powertrain and ZF gearboxes, and the eighth generation with these World Engines is meant for countries with strict emissions limits. It is available as an EcoHybrid and as the all-electric eCanter, while developing countries get a simplified version with Mitsubishi engines.
Design and features
- Eight generations: in production since 1963.
- World Engines: Iveco diesels and ZF gearboxes from 2010.
- eCanter: a fully electric version of the eighth generation.
- Many names: Colt Diesel in Indonesia, Canter Guts in Japan.
- Global reach: sold in more than 150 countries.
Mitsubishi Fuso Canter versions
- T720 (1963): the first Canter, 2-ton payload.
- T90 (1968): second generation with 4DR1 diesel.
- T200 (1970s): third generation with petrol and diesel options.
- Wide-cabin models: from the fourth generation.
- Canter Guts: 1.5-ton Japanese compact model.
- EcoHybrid and eCanter: low-emission versions of the eighth generation.
- General Export Models: simplified versions with Mitsubishi engines.
The Canter is the lightest of the Fuso trucks described on this site, below the Fighter and alongside the Rosa bus. The company itself is covered in Mitsubishi Fuso, and more vehicles are in the Mitsubishi collection.
Sources
- Mitsubishi Fuso Canter, English Wikipedia: generations, engines, markets, naming
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