Electric trucks made up 50.3% of all heavy trucks sold in China in September: 33,100 trucks in a single month, up 37% from September last year, while the overall heavy truck market shrank by 21%, Electrek reports. In tractors that pull long-haul trailers, the share reached 64.5%. Europe is at 2.5% and the US below 1%.
In the first nine months of 2026, China sold 226,400 electric heavy trucks, up 64%, for a 38.1% share, almost as many as in all of 2025. This year the Chinese government set a target of 40% by 2030, and CATL expects new-energy trucks to be half of China's annual truck sales by 2028. According to the report, China's diesel demand is on track to fall by about 230,000 barrels a day this year, mostly thanks to trucks running on batteries and natural gas.
The main reason is cost: a study by the ICCT and CATARC found battery-electric trucks about 19% cheaper per tonne-km than diesel in good conditions, though they lose that edge at low annual mileage. China answers charging time with battery swapping: CATL's Qiji brand ran about 300 heavy-truck swap stations at the end of 2025 and plans 900 by the end of this year and 2,000 in 2027.