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Heavy Vehicles Go Electric: China’s Decisive Lead in Zero-Emission Trucking
Why battery-electric trucks, buses, and construction vehicles are surging past hydrogen and hybrids.
China’s heavy vehicle sector took major strides toward electrification in 2024, underscoring the country’s continued leadership in the global transition toward zero-emission commercial transportation. Heavy road vehicles, including trucks, buses, construction equipment, and special-purpose vehicles, have traditionally lagged passenger cars in the electrification race, mainly due to operational challenges and cost sensitivities.
However, new data from the China Association of Automobile Manufacturers (CAAM) and industry sources like chinatrucks.org reveal a significant acceleration in new energy vehicle (NEV) adoption across these heavy segments, particularly highlighting battery-electric vehicles as the clear technology frontrunner.
Heavy-duty trucks, the backbone of China’s freight transport and logistics industry, accounted for about 901,700 domestic sales in 2024, reflecting a slight decline of roughly 1% year-on-year. Despite this modest contraction, the new energy share within heavy trucks surged, with around 82,000 NEV units sold, representing nearly 10% of the heavy truck market.
