Truck fleet targeted for electric makeover

China has set its first nationwide targets to accelerate the green, low-carbon transformation of the heavy truck sector.

The country is expected to have 1.6 million new energy heavy trucks by 2030, with these vehicles accounting for 40 percent of new heavy truck sales, according to a recently released plan jointly issued by the Ministry of Transport and 10 other central government authorities.

Once fulfilled, new energy heavy trucks will account for 20 percent of the nation's entire heavy trucks fleet by the end of the decade.

Heavy trucks make up just 3 percent of China's total vehicle fleet yet generate half of all road transport carbon emissions, said Li Bin, an expert at the China Electric Power Research Institute, earlier in June. The statistic shows how electrifying heavy trucks is critical to hitting peak carbon goals within the transport sector.

The central government has rolled out supporting infrastructure targets to underpin the plan, building a 30,000-kilometer zero-carbon highway transport network covering key national expressways, accompanied by around 3,000 dedicated charging and battery swap stations that exclusively serve heavy trucks.

For regions, including the Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei cluster, which are prioritized under national air pollution control initiatives, over 80 percent of fixed-route short-distance shuttle transport will be electrified.

Liu Xin, head of the Transport Planning and Research Institute under the Ministry of Transport, said that beyond the 1.6-million-unit fleet target, the plan prioritizes building an integrated industrial ecosystem linking vehicles, road networks and energy supply systems. Coordinated planning of refueling and recharging hubs with transport infrastructure will eliminate bottlenecks in short — and long-haul routes, enabling large-scale commercial operations.

Market uptake has expanded in recent years. Between January 2025 and May 2026, cumulative sales of new energy heavy trucks hit 337,000 units, lifting segment penetration above 29.5 percent. In May alone, sales surged 104 percent to 30,800 units, accounting for 40.88 percent of total heavy truck sales.

XCMG topped the sector with 4,986 units sold in May, followed by China National Heavy Duty Truck Group and Sany Truck. Several major players posted explosive year-on-year growth in May: China National Heavy Duty Truck Group surged 213 percent, Dongfeng Motor rose 110 percent and Farizon New Energy Commercial Vehicle jumped 219 percent.

The growth was driven by a combination of subsidy incentives for phasing out China's National IV emission standard heavy trucks, trade-in policies and robust demand from mining, urban construction and other industrial segments.

Wider industry scale has narrowed the cost gap between electric and diesel heavy trucks while amplifying operational savings.

Dang Botao, new energy product manager at Shaanxi Automobile Group, noted the purchase cost of electric heavy-duty trucks is approaching that of internal combustion ones.

The economic edge stands out in bulk fixed logistics such as coal transit, steel mill yard transport and other bulk cargo, where per-kilometer energy costs run at one-third those of diesel trucks, Dang added.

Zhang Rongji, executive president of StarCharge China, said that electric heavy trucks deliver superior total cost of ownership, cutting annual operating expenses by 150,000 to 250,000 yuan ($22,190 to $36,980) per vehicle. Over a five-year service life, cumulative savings range from 500,000 to 1 million yuan per vehicle.

Liu Zhen, new energy product line manager at China National Heavy Duty Truck Group, projects sustained long-term growth. Advances in power battery technology, mass-scale green hydrogen production, intelligent connectivity and end-to-end zero-carbon systems could push new energy heavy truck market penetration to between 80 and 90 percent by 2035.

Huatai Securities has forecast a combined national fleet of 1.6 million new energy heavy trucks by 2030, split between 1.31 million battery-electric units and 290,000 hydrogen fuel cell ones.

Annual battery demand for electric heavy trucks will reach 85.5 gigawatt-hours from 2026 through 2030, representing 14 percent of China's annual power battery installation volume, with upward revisions to consumption estimates likely, according to Huatai Securities.

Major manufacturers and battery suppliers have ramped up strategic investments. Chinese battery giant CATL signed a strategic cooperation agreement with Shanxi province in May to build a flagship industrial hub centered on battery-swap heavy trucks.

Another battery provider, CALB, has launched field research in Tengzhou, Shandong province, in March, targeting diversified application scenarios covering electric heavy trucks and electric vessels.