U.S. Electric Truck Market Size & Share Analysis - Trends, Drivers, Competitive Landscape, and Forecasts (2024 - 2030)

U.S. Electric Truck Market Data

U.S. Electric Truck Market Trends & Drivers

Usage of Telematics Services Is a Key Trend

• A major trend in the U.S. electric truck market is the rising utilization of telematics services in these automobiles. Due to the increasing competition in the market, fleet operators are in search of means to reduce the vehicles’ operational costs and increase the operational efficiency of their fleet. Most of the fleet operators use over 90 performance indicators to monitor their vehicles, drivers, and freight and optimize their processes. They are gaining additional information from the Industry 4.0 concept, also known as the Fourth Industrial Revolution, which accompanies the current trend of automation and data exchange in manufacturing technologies.
• Moreover, new telematics solutions are enabling this connectivity within the production landscape and transport chain. The functionalities and use of telematics allow for the monitoring of the entire vehicle via preventive maintenance, integrated repair, theft tracking, and integrated entertainment services; services focusing on driving behavior and safety; and fleet management and supply chain integration. Due to these advantages, most electric truck manufacturers are incorporating telematics services into their products.
• For instance, Efficient Drivetrains Inc. (now a part of Cummins Inc.) offers the EDI PowerSuite series to electric vehicle OEMs, including electric truck manufacturers. The EDI PowerSuite suite of fleet telematics and drivetrain control software allows for the management of electric and hybridized drivetrains and remote and automated monitoring of the vehicle performance.

Low Operating and Maintenance Cost Drives Market Growth

• Electric trucks have lower operating and maintenance costs as compared to conventional, fuel-based trucks. Unlike conventional diesel trucks, electric ones do not require the replacement of oils, spark plugs, fuel filters, and other components, resulting in substantial savings in the overall component cost. With electric trucks requiring lower maintenance than their conventional counterparts, the vehicle uptime for the former increases significantly, which benefits fleet owners.
• Like other electric vehicles, electric trucks employ regenerative braking systems, which help in achieving a significant reduction in the wear and tear on brakes. The fuel cost, coupled with repair and maintenance cost, constitutes around 35% of the total operating cost the case of a diesel truck. Such cost can be significantly reduced by replacing it with an electric variant. Thus, the adoption of electric trucks by fleet owners can significantly improve the benefit-to-cost ratio for them. Therefore, the low operating and maintenance cost of electric trucks is expected to drive the growth of the market.

Declining cost of battery

• In an electric truck, the battery pack is one of the primary components, and it accounts for a significant share in the overall drivetrain cost and, as such, considerably influences the selling price of the vehicle. The battery packs in all electric vehicles include electrochemical cells within a casing, which are integrated with battery management systems. The price of the battery pack is mainly affected by the chemicals used in electrochemical cells, as they determine a range of performance parameters, such as the energy-to-weight ratio, lifespan, and charging time. The batteries used in electric trucks are quite similar to the ones used in electric passenger cars, with the number of cells being greater in the former.
• The technological advancements in vehicle traction batteries over the past decade have helped bring down the price of the battery pack. Additionally, the demand for lithium-ion batteries is on the rise.
• Moreover, the battery manufacturing industry is growing much faster than the battery demand, which has led to economies of scale. As a result, the battery price has fallen drastically over the years. As per a February 2022 article on LiveMint, Li-ion battery prices have reduced by a massive 90% since 2010, reaching USD 130 per kWh. Industry experts further expected them to drop to USD 100 per kWh by 2024, which would finally allow EVs to compete with ICE vehicles. This would be owing to the rise in R&D expenditure by major battery manufacturers, which, in turn, will drive the growth of the market.

Technological Challenges

• Limited Electric Range: The range of an electric truck is mainly determined by the energy density of the battery pack. This parameter remains a bottleneck for HDTs, as an increment in the battery weight and volume, to extend the range of the truck, is not feasible. It is due to this reason electric drivetrains do not seem to be preferred for long-haul trucks, and thus, their usage is limited. With the development of innovative charging infrastructure, such as that enabling dynamic charging or overhead catenary wires, electric trucks may become a viable option for long-haul purposes. But, until then, the limited driving range will keep hindering their adoption in long-haul applications.
• Long Charging Time: The charging time is another important factor for the uptake of electric trucks, especially for long-haul applications. Most of the electric trucks employ slow charging systems, which usually take eight hours to charge the battery fully. At present, the available fast charging technology can help reduce the charging time, but there are some issues related to it, including ion flow from the battery due to the internal resistance of the battery. It can lead to heat gains and efficiency losses, thereby leading to the shortening of the battery life. Hence, unless battery swapping is employed, the charging time will continue to restrain the growth of the electric truck market.

U.S. Electric Truck Industry Outlook

Vehicle Type Insights

• The LDT category held the largest market share, of around 50%, in 2023. This can be attributed to the high demand for and adoption of pickup trucks in the country. The demand for them is driven by several industries. They offer a huge opportunity to the key players for the introduction of new electric variants, to help fleet owners cut down on overall operational costs.

During the study, we have analyzed three types of vehicles in the report:

• Light-Duty Truck (LDT) (Largest Category)
• Medium-Duty Truck (MDT)
• Heavy-Duty Truck (HDT) (Fastest-Growing Category)

Propulsion Analysis

• In terms of sales volume, the BEV category is expected to advance with a CAGR of 54.7% during the forecast period and hold the largest share in the market in 2030. This can be majorly ascribed to the improvements in the battery technology and the government’s support, in the form of financial incentives, for the development and purchase of these vehicles. Several tailor-made government schemes and programs for battery electric trucks have been announced in the country to encourage their adoption, to support freight transportation.
• Besides, the ongoing research on the battery technology by providers, in collaboration with electric truck manufacturers, aimed at improving the energy density, increasing the battery life, and reducing the battery prices, is driving the market growth in the BEV category.

Below are the propulsions covered in the report:

• Battery Electric Vehicle (BEV) (Largest and Fastest-Growing Category)
• Hybrid Electric Vehicle (HEV)
• Plug-In Hybrid Electric Vehicle (PHEV)
• Fuel Cell Electric Vehicle (FCEV)

Range Analysis

• The 0–150 miles category dominated the market during 2017–2023, and it is expected to retain its dominance through to 2030. This is attributed to the high preference for class I and II trucks, which mostly have a driving range of 0–150 miles.
• Moreover, issues such as the high battery weight, long charging time, and low battery energy density have restricted the usage of longer-range electric trucks.
• However, the major growth opportunity for electric truck manufacturers in the U.S. lies in long-range variants. With vehicle mileage being the primary concern, electric trucks with long ranges are rising in demand among users. In order to overcome the range anxiety during occasional inter-city travel, OEMs are primarily focusing on increasing the range of their offerings, in order to boost their sales.
• For instance, Atlis Motor Vehicles Inc. is working on the range of its fully electric pickup truck, Atlis XT, which is yet to be launched. The Atlis XT is expected to be launched in three battery variants, with ranges of 480 km, 640 km, and 800 km. The batteries are expected to be fast-charging variants with the conventional lithium–nickel–manganese–cobalt oxide (Li-NMC) chemistry.

The following ranges were analyzed in the report:

• 0–150 Miles (Largest Category)
• 151–250 Miles
• 251–500 Miles
• >500 Miles (Fastest-Growing Category)

Geographical Analysis

• Geographically, California is expected to lead the electric truck market of the U.S., with a share of around 35%, and it will advance at a CAGR of 54.7% during 2024-2030. The dominance of the state on the industry is attributed to the immense support of the government in the form of policy formulation and incentive plans that encourage the adoption of EVs in the state.
• For instance, in June 2020, California approved new rules that require a certain percentage of work truck sales each year to be of zero-emission vehicles. By the time the rules are fully implemented in 2035, the board estimates at least 15% of the 1.2 million trucks on the road to be running on electricity, thereby reflecting a massive increase in the demand for e-trucks.
• Moreover, California's expanding zero-emission vehicle policy continues to set an example for the country, with Governor Gavin Newsom praising the state for selling more than 1 million plug-in electric cars, pickup trucks, sports utility vehicles (SUVs), and motorcycles in 2021. According to new data, in February 2022, California accounts for almost 40% of all zero-emission automobiles in the country, despite having just 10% of the country's cars.

Further, states analyzed for this report include:

• California (Largest and Fastest-Growing Market)
• New York
• Florida
• Washington
• Texas
• New Jersey

Market Nature - Consolidated

The market for electric trucks is consolidated and dominated by major players, including BYD, AB Volvo, Mercedes Benz Group, and Ford Motor Company.

These players generally have supply contracts on long-term basis with electric vehicle technology providers, as well as automotive manufacturing companies. These companies have adopted various agreements, acquisitions, collaborations, partnerships, expansions, and supply contracts for driving the sales of their products.

U.S. Electric Truck Companies News

• BYD Co. Ltd. has announced that Einride AB, a Swedish freight technology company, has purchased 200 Class 8 8TT battery electric day cab trucks for deployment across the U.S.; this has become the largest order of its kind outside of Asia.
• USA Truck Inc. has signed a letter of intent (LOI) for an initial purchase of 10 Nikola Tre BEV trucks from Thompson Truck Centers, a member of the Nikola Corporation sales and service dealer network. Moreover, the LOI between USA Truck Inc. and Thompson Truck Centers is a fleet-as-a-service model, where Thompson will provide sales, service, maintenance, and the energy infrastructure required to operate the Nikola Tre BEV trucks, which are expected to be delivered in the first half of 2022. There is also an option to buy 90 more Nikola zero-emission trucks over the next couple of years.
• Xos Inc. has announced the signing of an agreement with FedEx Corporation to deliver 120 electric trucks to 35 different FedEx Ground operators in California, New York, New Jersey, Massachusetts, and Texas.
• Amazon.com Inc. plans to procure up to 2,500 all-electric Lion 6 and Lion 8 trucks from Canadian manufacturer The Lion Electric Company by 2025. The framework agreement already concluded with Amazon in July 2020.