Electric trucks are ready, can Europe’s infrastructure catch up?
At IAA Transportation in Hanover this September, Europe’s truck makers showed long-haul electric trucks with ranges of 700 km or more. They also met a new wave of competitors.
Our team was on the show floor in Hanover. Four things stood out.
- Long haul is within reach. Manufacturers now quote ranges of 700 km or more for long-haul electric trucks. Several exhibitors we spoke to reported similar figures in real-world operation.
- Competition is getting tougher. Chinese manufacturers including BYD, Foton, SANY and Farizon brought heavy electric trucks to Europe, several with megawatt charging. Tesla plans to start European deliveries of the Semi in 2027.
- Europe’s truck makers spoke with one voice. The CEOs of DAF, Daimler Truck, Ford Otosan, Iveco, MAN, Scania and Volvo stood on one stage. Their message was clear: zero-emission trucks for all major uses are available today, but charging infrastructure, grid connections and costs are lagging behind.
- Charging is the bottleneck. Megawatt charging, depot grid connections and Europe-wide charging networks dominated discussions on the conference stages.
For Swedish companies, the question is increasingly shifting from whether electric trucks can do the job to how we build the infrastructure around them. Charging, grid capacity and logistics need to develop alongside the vehicles.
This is also where Electrification Hub can play a role: bringing together the actors needed to develop and demonstrate complete systems in ports, mines and freight corridors, where vehicles, charging and energy need to work together.
Want to discuss any of these takeaways or hear more from IAA Transportation? Get in touch with Mikael Hjorth, who represented Electrification Hub in Hanover.
