Daimler Truck boss: Existence of the industry in Europe is threatened

Around the EU climate goals To achieve this, there are specifications for new heavy commercial vehicles. For example, their CO2 emissions must fall by 43 percent by 2030 compared to 2019. According to the EU Commission, heavy commercial vehicles are responsible for more than 25 percent of greenhouse gas emissions from road transport in the EU and account for more than 6 percent of total greenhouse gas emissions.

Daimler Truck CEO: “Big challenge”

According to Rådström’s calculations, in order to achieve 43 percent savings, around 35 percent of all newly registered trucks in Europe would have to be battery-electric or hydrogen-powered by 2030. The challenge is that by 2025 just two percent of all heavy trucks in Europe would be electric. Going from two percent in 2025 to 35 percent in 2030 is “a really big challenge.”

Daimler Truck has to pay around 120 million euros for every percentage point missed. “This would have existential consequences for the European commercial vehicle industry,” said Rådström. “If we miss the targets by ten percentage points, for example, we will practically no longer earn any money with the Mercedes-Benz Trucks segment.”

For comparison: in 2025, the segment achieved an operating result (EBIT) of 698 million euros. In 2024, Mercedes-Benz Trucks achieved an EBIT of 922 million euros. With sales of roughly 20 billion euros in both years. According to the company, Mercedes-Benz Trucks is active under the Mercedes-Benz brand in Europe, Asia, Africa and Latin America.

According to Rådström, what is the problem with e-mobility in trucks?

“The biggest problem remains infrastructure and charging,” said Rådström. Even those who wanted to switch to e-mobility are not sure whether they will be able to charge their vehicle along the route in the future, reported the head of the DAX group from Leinfelden-Echterdingen near Stuttgart.

Another challenge is to achieve cost parity in order to make electric trucks competitive compared to combustion engines. That depends on the electricity and diesel prices. “Diesel is comparatively not an expensive energy source,” said Rådström. Their customers ran their businesses on very thin profit margins. “You can’t afford expensive experiments,” said the Swedish-born manager. In most cases, diesel still makes sense for customers.

What Daimler Truck demands

“We are calling for a review of CO2 regulation. This has to be a reality check,” said Rådström. The regulation must, among other things, be linked to the ramp-up of the infrastructure. In addition, the infrastructure must be expanded more quickly.

“It is still too early to say that we have to change the goals,” said Rådström. But given the slow build-up of infrastructure and the unwillingness of important EU member states to implement CO2 differentiation in truck tolls, it is clear that the industry will need more time to achieve the targets planned for 2030.