Electric Truck Market Report

The transportation sector is one of the largest emitters of greenhouse gases which contributes to climate change in a big way. Furthermore, with economic development comes an even greater volume of international and domestic trade which further raises the level of emissions from this sector. The growing impact of climate change has driven the discussion around possible solutions from which emerged the electric truck solution. They have been in use in limited applications for many years however, recent innovations in the electric mobility sector have enabled wider adoption of electric trucks and are gradually entering the mainstream, especially in the developed markets. 

Electric Truck Market Outlook

• Higher mileage and lower operating cost are some of the driving factors of the market. Technological innovations favorable regulatory conditions are further boosting the market.
• Ongoing boom in electric vehicle technology is projected to have a significant upside impact on the automotive sector and consequently on the transportation industry as well, given the growing role the sector plays in the global economy.
• However, electric trucks tend to be heavier than the regular petroleum based ones. Additionally, lithium ion batteries have a lesser energy density raising the concern of frequent recharges enroute to the destination, causing delays and downtime.

Electric Truck Market Regional Highlights

• Asia Pacific’s electric truck market is in the process of streamlining its operations in a move towards achieving greater regional expansion. Higher amounts of capital expenditure for research and development in the regional automotive industry is one of the indicators of this envisioned expansion. This would result in a rapid growth over the forecast period (in terms of CAGR) for the region’s electric truck market.
• North America holds a leading market share in 2019 attributing to its increased activity in the technology and automotive space over the past few years. The relative maturity of the region’s automotive industry is another factor responsible for its dominance.

Electric Truck Market Segmental Overview

• A hybrid electric truck is one that uses HEV or hybrid electric vehicle technology for its propulsion instead of only a combustion engine. Further, a plug-in hybrid electric vehicle can be recharged by plugging it into an external electric power source or its own engine and generator.
• The heavy-duty trucks are likely to witness the maximum growth over the forecast period owing to their use in industrial applications such as mining and construction among others.
• The transport sector, in particular the logistics sector presents the maximum growth opportunity for growth in the electric trucks market given its share in global transportation sector currently. The municipal sector covers garbage trucks, and milk distribution vehicles among other possible application areas.

Electric Truck Market Key Players

The major companies operating in the electric truck market include Alke, BYD Company Ltd, Daimler AG, Dongfeng Motor Corporation, Hino Motors, Ltd, Isuzu Motors Limited, Navistar, Inc, PACCAR Inc, RENAULT TRUCKS, Tesla, and Zenith Motors among others.

Industry focus would be trained on rapid innovation towards cost reduction given that the high cost of such technology is a key factor holding back uptake and adoption. Innovation in electric truck applications is currently higher in logistics applications given the unique operating conditions they pose and the need to overcome them has driven rapid innovation in the area. Such technology would eventually be taken up by municipal applications, given the scope the area presents. Therefore, greater innovation and cost reduction would be the main focus areas of the key players over the coming years.