Study predicts:

Electric trucks will replace diesel trucks from 2030

According to a study, electric trucks could become standard in just a few years and almost completely replace diesel trucks by 2040. By 2030, more than one in five trucks and buses worldwide will be battery-electric.

This is the conclusion of a study conducted by auditing firm PwC at the IAA Transportation commercial vehicle trade fair in Hanover. By 2040, the proportion could be as high as 90 percent. In 2030, the experts expect global sales of 600,000 electric trucks, followed by 2.7 million per year ten years later.

"After the transport sector struggled with the switch to electric trucks for a long time, we are now seeing a profound change in the industry," says Jörn Neuhausen, Head of Electromobility at PwC strategy consultants Strategy& Germany. New platforms for electric commercial vehicles would pave the way for widespread use in a wide range of application scenarios.

Tipping point by 2030
The "tipping point" will be reached by 2030, after which the transformation of the industry will "accelerate significantly", according to Neuhausen. An important driver here will be the regulations to reduce 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 e-trucks is likely to jump by 50 percent by the end of the decade, increasing from 600 to 900 kilometers. Charging speeds will even triple, while prices for the electric drivetrain will fall by ten percent.

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

Substantial investment in charging infrastructure required
However, this would require a consistent expansion of the charging infrastructure. This will require considerable investment in the coming years - both from the public sector and, above all, from the logistics industry itself, which will have to install more charging points in its depots.

According to the report, the public investment requirement in Europe will be 6.1 billion euros by 2035 in order to build 720 charging parks and thus create a nationwide charging infrastructure. In addition, the companies themselves would have to raise a further 28.6 billion euros for around 28,500 of their own charging points.