Europe's Truck Industry Sounds Alarm on China's Electric Truck Surge
Europe's truck industry is raising alarm bells over China's rapid advancement in electric truck adoption. While China's market share of electric trucks has skyrocketed from 4 to 24 percent in just two years, Europe lags behind with only 3.6 percent. This growth is driven by significantly cheaper electric trucks due to larger production volumes, but these vehicles are still two to three times more expensive than diesel trucks, posing a barrier to widespread adoption.
The weight of battery trucks is another hurdle. They are several tons heavier, requiring an increase in permissible total weight for economic viability. Despite these challenges, some European companies like the Behrens Group are already using electric trucks with positive results.
Germany, for instance, has only 0.4 percent of its heavy-duty trucks as electric vehicles. In contrast, China aims to have half of all new trucks electric by 2028. The charging infrastructure is a bottleneck, with only 70 public charging locations for electric trucks in Germany by 2025. While the current infrastructure is sufficient for the current number of electric trucks, investments are primarily focused on passenger cars, leaving heavy goods vehicles behind.
The inauguration of the first Mega-Charger in Germany this week signals a step forward, but Europe must accelerate its efforts to keep pace with Chinese competitors in the electric truck market. Europe's truck industry warns of a dramatic lag behind China in adopting electric trucks. With cheaper, mass-produced electric trucks from China on the horizon, Europe must address cost, weight, and charging infrastructure challenges to avoid falling further behind in the global shift to electric vehicles.
