Study: Electric trucks will replace diesel trucks

Electric trucks will increasingly replace diesel-powered trucks from 2030 onwards. This is the conclusion of a study by the German auditing firm PWC.

According to the report, electrically powered trucks are expected to become standard on German roads in just a few years and will almost completely replace combustion engines.

2.7 million new electric trucks per year

According to the analysis, by 2030 more than one in five trucks and buses worldwide will be battery-electric. By 2040, this share could be as high as 90 percent. Experts expect global sales of 600,000 electric trucks in 2030, and 2.7 million per year ten years later.

“After the transport sector has long struggled with the transition to electric trucks, we are now observing a profound change in the industry,” says Jorn Neuhausen,Head of Electromobility at PwC Strategy Consulting Strategy& Deutschland,New platforms for electric commercial vehicles would pave the way for widespread use in a wide variety of application scenarios.

“Tipping point” will be reached in 2030

By 2030, the “tipping point” will be reached, from which the transformation of the industry will “accelerate significantly,” says Neuhausen. An important driver here is the regulations for reducing CO2 emissions from trucks, which will be noticeably tightened in all major regions of the world from 2030.

According to the study, the range of electric trucks is expected to jump by 50 percent by the end of the decade, increasing from 600 to 900 kilometers. Charging speeds will even triple, and prices for the electric drive train will fall by 10 percent.

As a result, electric trucks and buses could then be used economically in long-distance transport and on scheduled services and would even be cheaper in terms of overall costs than diesel vehicles.

Significant investments in charging infrastructure

However, this requires a consistent expansion of the charging infrastructure. This will require significant investments in the coming years – both from the public sector and, above all, from the logistics industry itself, which will need to set up more charging points in its depots.

By 2035, public investment in Europe will be EUR 6.1 billion to build 720 charging parks and thus create a nationwide charging infrastructure. In addition, companies themselves would have to raise another EUR 28.6 billion for around 28,500 of their own charging points.