On September 19th, Caixin News Agency (Reporter Liu Yang) reported that at the 2024 Hanover International Commercial Vehicle Show (IAA), which serves as a barometer for the development of commercial vehicles, Tesla Semi, which previously dominated the trend of pure electric heavy-duty trucks, is facing "siege" from domestic brands in China and Europe; And this also means the arrival of the era of heavy truck electrification on a global scale.
On September 17th, IAA kicked off its grand display, showcasing not only Tesla Semi, but also three models from the local Chinese startup Subaru, as well as Sany Electric Trucks; Among local European brands, Daimler Trucks highlights the pure electric long-distance truck Mercedes Benz eActros 600 as a representative. According to the plan, Daimler Trucks will start mass production of eActros 600 at the Mercedes Benz Walter factory by the end of November this year, and plans to complete the production and registration of the first batch of eActros 600 customer vehicles by the end of 2024.
Data shows that since the release of the eActros 600 at the end of last year, Daimler Trucks has received over 2000 formal orders and the number of intended orders has reached four digits.
The eActros 600, with a single charge range of up to 500 kilometers, is expected to become a powerful alternative to diesel trucks, "said Karin Rdstrm, a member of the Daimler Trucks board and responsible for Mercedes Benz truck business. Daimler Trucks can help customers improve profitability through the eActros 600 and will continue to work with the government, energy industry, and industry to promote the construction of public charging infrastructure.
In the European long-distance tests conducted prior to this, the eActros 600 prototype achieved an average driving energy consumption of 103 kWh per 100 kilometers, which is equivalent to diesel vehicles consuming only about 10 liters of diesel fuel per 100 kilometers, which is almost impossible to achieve for traditional diesel powered trucks.
Similar to Daimler Trucks' judgment on the trend of heavy-duty truck technology, Subaru Technology, a local electric heavy-duty truck startup from China, has also set the production schedule for its first product, the electric tractor eTopas 600, in cooperation with European car company Steyr Automotive, at the end of 2025. At this year's IAA, Subaru officially announced its "Empowerer" strategy and reached a strategic partnership with Steyr Automotive. According to the introduction of Subaru, "enabler" is a highly summarized open business model of Subaru for the global market. Through diverse cooperation with global vehicle manufacturers and electric truck ecological enterprises, it provides leading electric heavy-duty truck solutions and promotes real transformation of the electrification industry with a complete ecosystem.
In 2023, the global medium and heavy-duty truck market generated approximately $300 billion in sales, but this market presents a highly concentrated characteristic, with the top four occupying 46% of the market share, all of which are European and American OEMs. "In the view of Yu Yang, Vice President of Brand and Marketing at Subaru Technology, the global trend of heavy-duty truck electrification is expected to break this traditional pattern. There are predictions that the global share of medium and heavy truck electrification will reach 30% in the next decade, generating over $100 billion in annual sales. Based on China's leading global technology and cost electric supply chain, it is expected that the top electric medium and heavy truck companies in China will generate annual sales of over 10 billion US dollars through the global market
In the domestic market, this trend is also evident. According to data from the China Association of Automobile Manufacturers, in August, the domestic sales of new energy commercial vehicles reached 41000 units, a year-on-year increase of 11.2%, accounting for 20.8% of the domestic sales of commercial vehicles; From January to August, the domestic sales of new energy commercial vehicles reached 303000 units, a year-on-year increase of 38.4%, accounting for 15.1% of the domestic sales of commercial vehicles.
Industry insiders believe that driven by multiple factors such as road rights policies, continuous improvement of charging and swapping facilities, and improved performance of power batteries, new energy medium and heavy trucks will experience explosive growth. According to predictions, by 2030, the sales of new energy commercial vehicles in China will reach 1.5 million units, with a penetration rate of over 30%.