Toyota Hino debut new Le Series electric MD trucks at ACT Expo

Toyota subsidiary Hino Trucks is following in the steps of the noble Renault Le Car with the all-new, all-electric Le Series of medium-duty commercial trucks – and the new Le Series packs a GVWR worth nearly sixteen of the tiny French minis!

Available in both 25,950 lb. (L6e) and 33,000 lb. (L7e) GVWR configurations, the new Le Series MDEVs are hoping to supplant the Mack MD Electric as the burliest of the electric work trucks, with a clear back-of-cab layout designed specifically to appeal to body builders and upfitters looking to put the new Hino electric Le trucks to work.

“Introducing the Le Series is an important step in our efforts to reduce environmental impact and support our customers’ sustainability goals,” said Rodney Shaffer, Vice President, National Accounts & ZEVs of Hino Trucks. “We’ve focused on delivering a solution that builds on our proven platform and is well-suited for the applications where electric vehicles make the most sense, helping fleets take practical and meaningful steps toward lower emissions.”

El-ee, not “Le”

Based on the new-ish Hino L Series Class 6 and 7 trucks (show, above), the Le Series packs a 296 kWh Hexagon Purus ProPack stuffed with Panasonic Energy li-ion cells operating on a 750V architecture that offers 120 kW charging speeds and 10-80% charge times in less than two hours. Those batteries send power to a Cummins Accelera Integrated e-Axle 14Xe Gen 4.5 making up to 348 peak hp and a staggering 15,000 lb-ft of TQ at the wheels (gear reduction).