Chinese firms take on EV truck challenges

Dominant in the electric car sector, Chinese companies have been quietly consolidating their position in the less-watched trucking scene – but foreign tariffs and a perceived quality gap could signal roadblocks ahead, experts warn.The domestic supply chain and low-price strategy that helped make China’s EV car industry world-leading are being leveraged by established automakers and start-ups alike, aiming to similarly transform trucking.Electric trucks currently represent less than one percent of truck sales worldwide, according to the International Energy Agency (IEA) – with China making up 70 percent of those sales in 2023.But the agency said it was “optimistic” policy and technology developments would see more widespread adoption in the next 10 years.”This industry, I believe, is ripe for disruption,” Han Wen, the founder of start-up Windrose, told AFP on a factory floor as the company’s first vehicles for delivery were assembled behind him.Fleets of electric heavy goods vehicles from China have been growing internationally, even as Western countries target the country’s EV cars with heavy sanctions.Chinese companies like BYD and Beiqi Foton have shipped trucks to countries including Italy, Poland, Spain and Mexico, and have opened assembly plants around the world.”China’s trucks are generally cost-competitive in emerging markets,” Stephen Dyer, from consulting firm AlixPartners, told AFP.”For mature markets, performance and durability do not yet meet the needs of most customers, but that is changing.”When it comes to emissions, “heavy-duty trucks are considered one of the more difficult to abate transport segments (after aviation and shipping)”, IEA analyst Elizabeth Connelly told AFP.Battery issuesA major challenge is the trade-off between battery size and range.”The larger the battery, the longer the range. But the larger the battery, the heavier the truck… and the worse the fuel economy,” Connelly said.Chinese manufacturers have been seen as producing lower quality products than foreign counterparts.”Historically, Chinese trucks tended to have a shorter useful lifecycle than European or Japanese trucks,” AlixPartners’ Dyer told AFP.While that perception is changing, China’s flagship companies still lag rivals on factors like range and battery capacity.According to the Zero-Emission Technology Inventory, the median Chinese heavy duty truck range is 250 kilometers (155 miles), compared with 322 km in the United States.BYD – which in October beat Tesla in quarterly revenue for the first time – says its 8TT model’s range is 200 kilometers, compared with the 800 kilometers promised by Tesla’s semi truck.But Chinese manufacturers could close the gap quickly.Han’s Windrose says its semi-trucks can go up to 670 kilometers on a single charge.Meanwhile, battery giant CATL has rolled out truck battery-swapping facilities — where drained units can be immediately replaced, eliminating charging time altogether.China’s existing EV ecosystem is a massive advantage.”We’re very lucky to have the Chinese supply chain (for EVs),” said Han, noting Windrose was using an electric bus company’s factory to build its trucks.”There’s no doubt that China will also have an edge on the electrification of heavy-duty trucks.