The electrification of trucks could bring about long-term cost savings and reputational benefits for many companies, whilst being advantageous to the environment in reducing overall emissions within the transport sector. IDTechEx’s report, “Electric and Fuel Cell Trucks 2025-2045: Technologies, Markets, Forecasts“, focuses on the drivers for electrification for medium to heavy-duty trucks and provides detailed insights into the market over the next twenty years. Trucks are a capital good unlike passenger cars, completing a much greater annual mileage and generating an overall fuel consumption of approximately five times greater. The product lifecycle of a truck may be around 10 years, whereas for a passenger car, it is expected to be only 4 to 6 years, meaning trucks need to maintain reliability over a longer period.
Considerations for employing zero-emission trucks
While purchasing passenger cars may be tied to other drivers such as prestige or sentimentality, zero-emission trucks focus more on operational, financial, and environmental factors that will be financially beneficial to companies. Therefore, many different considerations may arise when choosing to invest in a new fleet.
The duty cycle range required for electric trucks is a major factor to consider, with payload weight and volume also being extremely prevalent, with long haul journeys being a primary application for trucks. Charging infrastructure accessibility while on the go is necessary for cross-country journeys, while the reliability of a vehicle must also be assessed for such use cases. The frequency with which a truck will likely need servicing or maintenance upkeep is also a huge operational consideration for companies, along with the need to provide driver training.
Electric trucks can cost up to twice as much as a diesel truck. However, since the total costs of ownership will likely become lower over the vehicle’s lifecycle compared with diesel engines, zero-emission trucks will be an investment for many companies. Excluding upfront costs, maintenance and refuelling/charging will be the main sources of cost during the vehicle’s lifecycle. This may result in companies needing to decide whether purchasing or leasing trucks is the best option financially.
Regulations and the environment
As regulations get stricter around emissions targets, opting for electric trucks now could be a good investment for the future. By 2030, the EU aims to see a 45% reduction in truck emissions, which is expected to increase to 65% by 2035 and 90% by 2040. However, as of April 2025, the landscape in the US remains unclear, with the Trump administration pushing back against existing emissions regulations and the Advanced Clean Truck regulation.
There are many potential benefits for the environment and for companies from purchasing electric trucks. Not only are these trucks contributing to lowering harmful transport emissions, but the reduced noise of large engines may be more pleasant for other road users.
With so much ongoing focus on sustainability and climate change, companies could benefit from more prestigious reputations in their choice to invest in trucks that can let the environment breathe. Despite far fewer trucks being sold annually than passenger cars, the gradual movement of electric trucks into the transport sector may also set the tone for other truck companies to follow suit.
IDTechEx reports a preference for heavy-duty trucks over medium-duty trucks across Europe, with heavy-duty sales reaching 343,000 in 2023, compared with only 77,000 medium-duty. The US and China also demonstrate much greater demand for heavy-duty trucks, with China selling almost 1 million in the same year.
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