Chinese electric truck makers accelerate global dominance even as they face trade hurdles
Fleets of electric trucks from China have been growing internationally even as Western countries target the country’s EVs with sanctions
Dominant in the electric vehicle (EV) sector, Chinese companies have been quietly consolidating their position in the lesser-watched trucking scene – but foreign tariffs and a perceived quality gap could signal roadblocks ahead, experts warn.
The domestic supply chain and low-price strategy that helped make China’s EV industry world-leading are being leveraged by established carmakers and start-ups alike, aiming to similarly transform trucking.
Electric trucks currently represent less than 1 per cent of truck sales worldwide, according to the International Energy Agency (IEA) – with China making up 70 per cent of those sales in 2023.
But the agency said it was “optimistic” policy and technology developments would see more widespread adoption in the next 10 years.
“This industry, I believe, is ripe for disruption,” Han Wen, the founder of start-up Windrose, said on a factory floor as the company’s first vehicles for delivery were assembled behind him.
Fleets of electric heavy goods vehicles from China have been growing internationally, even as Western countries target the country’s EVs with heavy sanctions.
