RIZON, Daimler Truck’s newest brand of all-electric vehicles, announced its first official handover in Canada—an 18,850 GVW e18L fitted with a dump body—to Villamar Construction in Victoria, British Columbia. The unit will be integrated into Villamar’s operations and used on custom home-building projects.

An additional 18 units upfitted with various bodies—such as dry boxes, service bodies, and landscape dumps—will be delivered to customers across British Columbia and Québec in the coming weeks. Customers include municipalities, rental and leasing providers as well as freight and logistics companies.

RIZON Truck launched in Canada in 2024 to meet the demand for zero-emission vehicles as the government aims for net-zero emissions by 2050. The Canadian government has established an incentive program to encourage fleets to electrify, prompting companies and municipalities to explore sustainable fleet options for improved environmental performance and operational efficiency. RIZON’s current network of dealers in Canada includes nine locations across British Columbia, Ontario, and Québec with plans to expand to other locations in the near future.

These vehicles will qualify for the Canadian government’s Incentives for Medium- and Heavy-Duty-Zero-Vehicles (iMHZEV) program, which has been in effect since 2022. A RIZON truck will qualify for approximately $75,000 at the point of sale under this program. RIZON trucks may qualify for additional provincial incentives up to $75,000 in BC.

RIZON offers four model variants for Canadian customers, the e16L, e16M, e18L, and the e18M, with a versatile mix of configurations and options suitable for each customer’s requirements, ranging from 15,995 to 18,850 pounds in gross vehicle weight (GVW). The vehicles can run up to 257 km (for L size variant with 3 battery packs) and up to 177 km (for M size variant with 2 battery packs) on a single charge.

They are suited to a variety of applications such as dry vans, flatbeds, landscape dumps, garbage compactors, and reefers, and feature an electric power take-off (ePTO), which is controllable from the cab and allows for specialized equipment such as reefer belt drives and hydraulic pumps.

RIZON trucks are capable of being charged by two types of battery charging systems, Level 2 AC charging (J1772) and DC Fast Charging CCS1 compliant.

One important aspect of operating EVs in Canada is cold-weather performance. RIZON trucks feature an electric preconditioning function that brings the batteries to the ideal temperature before operation using power from the grid. This feature enables vehicles to operate with improved performance in cold weather. Furthermore, they come equipped with heated features for driver comfort, including a heated seat, steering wheel, and windshield.

RIZON is Daimler Truck’s ninth, and newest, brand and represents its dedication to zero-emission transportation. The brand and its trucks were announced to the public for the first time during the Advanced Clean Transportation (ACT) Expo in May of 2023, in Anaheim, California, and are currently in operation by customers on Canadian and American streets.

The class 4-5 medium-duty battery-electric vehicles will range from 15,995 to 18,850 lbs. in gross vehicle weight (GVW) for Canadian customers, and can run up to 177 km (for M size variant with 2 battery packs) and up to 257 km (L size variant with 3 battery packs) on a single charge.