Chinese manufacturers of electric freight trucks are accelerating their push into Europe this year, presenting a low-cost, technologically competitive challenge to incumbents. More than half a dozen Chinese firms have been identified as planning to begin heavy truck sales in Europe in 2026, including BYD; Geely Holding unit Farizon; Sany; Sinotruk; and startups Windrose and SuperPanther.
Founding a new presence in international truck markets, Windrose - established in 2022 - intends to produce trucks in Europe and is also exploring U.S. production ties with Xos, the maker of delivery trucks used by major couriers. That potential transatlantic production would place Windrose in direct competition with other long-haul electric tractor initiatives, including Tesla’s Semi, which the company’s CEO Elon Musk recently said will start mass production this year, nine years after its 2017 unveiling.
Executives at both Chinese and European truck firms told industry observers that the new Chinese entrants plan to price their vehicles as much as 30% below the current European average truck price of 320,000 euros ($380,000). That potential discount rests on two main advantages: manufacturing scale and a lower-cost electric vehicle and battery supply chain based in China, where zero-emission heavy-duty trucks already account for 29% of sales.
Electric freight trucks remain a small but rapidly growing slice of the European market. They represented 4.2% of truck sales in the EU in 2025, up from 2.3% in 2024. Growth has been constrained by high sticker prices - roughly three times the 100,000-euro average for a diesel truck, according to industry experts - which keeps many fleet owners weighing total cost of ownership calculations carefully.
Brand loyalty among Europe’s fleet operators is a notable buffer for established manufacturers. Companies such as Daimler Trucks, Volvo Group, Iveco and Traton - the Volkswagen unit that owns MAN and Scania - dominate the regional market and maintain strong global positions outside China. Yet the price sensitivity of fleet buyers is a source of real concern for legacy makers, who fear a rapid erosion of market share if lower-cost Chinese trucks win broad adoption.
"We have one or two years to get ahead of this," said Chris Heron, secretary general of trade association E-Mobility Europe. "Or the Chinese will eat our lunch."
That urgency has spurred both corporate and industry-level responses. Executives and trade groups described Chinese rivals as "speedy, innovative, decisive and committed," language echoed by Volvo Group’s CEO Martin Lundstedt, who said: "Full respect - and the race is on." European associations including the European Automobile Manufacturers Association (ACEA) and E-Mobility are actively lobbying the European Commission for measures designed to accelerate demand for zero-emission trucks ahead of a larger Chinese presence.
Among the policy tools being sought are lower highway tolls for electric vehicles, zero-emissions freight mandates for major fleet customers and other incentives to tip buying decisions toward electric trucks. Thomas Fabian, ACEA’s chief commercial vehicle officer, said: "We need a significant acceleration of ZET (zero-emission truck) adoption in Europe." Climate groups also support demand-boosting measures, and some governments have already moved: the Netherlands offered a generous electric-truck subsidy programme in January, totalling $95 million, which was oversubscribed in a single day. "That tells you it’s also about price," said Stef Cornelis, director of electric fleets and trucks at Transport & Environment (T&E).
The European Commission has signalled a mixed approach. In a December automotive package, it proposed easing 2030 carbon-emissions standards for truckmakers while backing measures intended to stimulate electric demand, including lower tolls. Officials say the Commission is also considering tying electric-truck subsidies to local production and gradually mandating fleet electrification, a spokesperson told industry representatives.
Part of the shock to European incumbents is the speed with which some Chinese companies have brought Europe-capable products to market. Phil Dunne, a managing director at consultancy Grant Thornton Stax, noted that Europe’s truckmakers traditionally count on a development cycle of around seven years and had expected Chinese competitors to need considerably longer to create models suited to European requirements. "The speed at which the Chinese have arrived with great products has surprised everyone," Dunne said.
Windrose’s experience illustrates that accelerated timeline. The startup spent three years developing its Global E700 electric truck and secured regulatory approval to sell it in China, Europe and the United States. Its first design features a centrally positioned driver's seat, a configuration that removes the need to produce separate left- and right-hand-drive variants for different markets - an efficiency that contrasts with legacy makers, which often develop region-specific models and maintain separate R&D teams.
Windrose CEO Wen Han said the company "only had enough money to develop one truck." The firm spent $99 million on development and will charge 250,000 euros ($295,250.00) for the vehicle in Europe when it goes on sale this year, a price more than double what it fetches in China’s more competitive market.
Belgian logistics firm Gilbert de Clercq has ordered a Windrose E700. CEO Filip de Clercq said his company was drawn by the truck’s European price point, along with its 670-kilometre (416 miles) driving range and a 35-minute charging time - a recharge rate the company described as more than twice as fast as most European electric trucks currently achieve. "China’s competitive advantage is their technology is about three years ahead of Europe’s," de Clercq said.
Chinese manufacturers are also taking practical steps to reduce European buyers’ concerns about after-sales support and local presence. SuperPanther, backed by Xiaomi, and Sany have each signed agreements with Germany’s Alltrucks, which operates a network of about 650 service centres across Europe. BYD plans to assemble trucks at its bus factory in Hungary. SuperPanther will use contract manufacturing at an Austrian facility run by Steyr Automotive, which formerly produced MAN vehicles.
"Having our trucks assembled in Europe is a very good storyline for us," said Frank Schulz, SuperPanther’s head of sales.
European manufacturers are not standing still. Scania invested 2 billion euros last October to open a factory roughly 150 km northwest of Shanghai that currently produces diesel trucks and will add electric models later. The company has also been recruiting R&D talent in China to strengthen its competitive position both in that market and globally. Levin, speaking during a tour of Scania’s electric truck factory in Sodertalje, Sweden, described China’s ability to "scale quickly from innovation to a really industrial state" as their largest advantage - a capability European firms will need to learn from.
As Chinese electric heavy trucks prepare to enter European fleets in greater numbers, the industry is confronting a choice between relying on brand loyalty and established dealer networks, or responding with faster product development, cost reduction and concerted policy engagement. Whether incumbents can match the low-cost offerings and rapid product cycles of their Chinese competitors - and whether European governments will act to shape demand and production patterns - will determine how market share evolves in the coming years.
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