Tackling the EV truck market

Hello, I’m Evelyn, writing to you from Beijing. Welcome to the latest edition of The China Connection, a snapshot of what I see and hear from local businesses.

China isn’t resting on its laurels after its success with electric cars. From new policy targets to exports, what will speed things up?

China plans to repeat its electric car success story, this time with trucks.

As transportation and oil costs increased this year, foreign buyers of approximately 880 electric trucks put pressure on the Chinese manufacturer sany They will ship them all by the end of June, according to Michael Yue, general manager of overseas markets for Sany Heavy Industry’s electric truck division.

Our conversation took place just days after China’s Ministry of Transport demanded accountability for new-energy heavy trucks. 40% of new truck Sales by 2030. More than 80 percent of trucks used on shorter routes around Beijing should be electric, the policy added.

Targets reflect China’s pressure more than ten years It aimed to develop new energy passenger cars, a category that previously included battery-powered and hybrid models. The aim was to hold NEVs accountable 20% of new passenger car sales by 2025.

China exceeded this criterion.

By 2024, more than half of new passenger cars sold in China were NEVs. This figure has since risen to over 60%, and BYD Executive Vice President Stella Li recently predicted that this figure could soon reach 80%.

Electric trucks follow a similar path. About One quarter of trucks sold in China Last year, electric vehicles helped global sales in the segment double to more than 400,000, according to the International Energy Agency. The IEA attributed much of this growth in China to “decreasing battery costs as well as operational cost advantages.”

In certain cases, the total cost of owning a battery-powered heavy-duty truck in China over a five-year lifecycle is on par with diesel alternatives, the IEA said in a report published in May.

But outside China, electric trucks are generally at least twice as expensive as diesel-powered models, the IEA said.

This gap helps explain why worldwide adoption has remained relatively limited, even from automotive giants and start-ups contest Sunday.

Tesla’s It is expected to increase deliveries of its “Semi” truck this year. Mercedes-Benz eActros 600 electric introduced Long-distance truck in 2023, but still in focus promotion this year’s vehicle.

Sany, which has focused on excavators and construction machinery for decades, only expanded into electric vehicles five years ago, Yue said. He said the company has since stopped selling diesel trucks in China.

The company claims that the order for 880 vehicles represents the largest export shipment of electric trucks from China to date.

Yue declined to name the customer or destination country due to confidentiality agreements but said Sany had previously shipped electric trucks to countries such as Indonesia and the United Arab Emirates.

Like Xiaomi and other Chinese power companies that are increasingly relying on factory automation to reduce costs and increase production, Sany has built most of its manufacturing capacity in-house.

In fact, the first phase of its highly automated factory in Changsha can produce up to 300,000 trucks a year using parts already made in China, Yue said. It claimed to be the second largest commercial truck factory in the world, just behind BMW in Europe.

Sany currently operates in Asia, America, Europe and Africa. More than 60% of its total revenue of 89.7 billion yuan last year came from outside China.

“The company’s factory in Indonesia produced products that reached high-end markets in Europe and the United States,” Sany said in its 2025 annual report. The company declined to comment on this matter reported plans to list its electric truck business In Hong Kong.

Jing Yang, director of corporate ratings for Asia-Pacific at Fitch Ratings, said electric trucks account for a small but rapidly growing share of China’s truck exports. “This segment grew rapidly in 2025 and the first four months of 2026. Fitch expects strong momentum to continue.”

If this prediction proves correct, electric trucks could join cars and semiconductors in boosting China’s global exports despite rising tariffs; because Beijing is establishing another industry that it sets the pace for.

China’s retail sales fall for first time in three years

Official data for May showed retail sales While it unexpectedly fell by 0.6% compared to a year ago, investment figures also fell more than expected. Industrial production exceeded expectations with 4.5% growth.