Are diesel trucks being banned soon?

Not in most export markets. Bans so far are mostly city-level, and on corridors over 500 km diesel remains the only practical option. Electric trucks are growing fastest on fixed short loops: ports, mines, depots and city distribution.

Are electric trucks cheaper to run?

Usually yes per kilometre, and they need less routine maintenance because there is no engine oil, no fuel filters and no injectors. But the purchase price is higher, charging infrastructure costs real money, and the resale value is far less predictable than diesel.

Can you supply parts for electric trucks?

We supply the parts electric trucks still use - brakes, suspension, steering, cab and electrical components. Send the part number, or a photo of the old part, and we will confirm fitment and quote within one working day.

Electric Trucks vs Diesel: The Advantages, and the Problems Still Unsolved

Diesel is at record highs. Electric truck sales are at record highs too: 158,000 medium- and heavy-duty electric trucks were sold worldwide in the first half of 2026, up 75% from a year earlier, according to BloombergNEF. Two records in one year – telling the same story.

The short version

Electric trucks are cheaper to run, and they have far fewer parts to wear out.
They still cannot cover the long corridors most of our customers drive every day.
So the real question in 2026 is not electric or diesel. It is how well you keep the diesel truck you already own.

Now the detail.

Electric share of new medium and heavy truck sales in the first half of 2026: China about 20 percent, Norway and Switzerland similar, Denmark Netherlands and Sweden above 10 percent, Europe average 5.5 percent, United States under 1 percent. Source BloombergNEF

Where electric trucks already win

1. Running cost

Fuel is 25 to 30% of a long-haul fleet’s operating cost. Electricity is cheaper per kilometre almost everywhere, and every rise in diesel prices shortens the payback period.

Put a number on that: every 20 cents on a gallon of diesel adds roughly 3 to 4 cents per mile of hauling cost. Small margins – multiplied by every kilometre your fleet runs.

2. Far fewer wearing parts

No engine oil, no oil or fuel filters, no injectors, no exhaust system. There is simply less to wear out and less to service.

3. Clean and quiet where it matters

Mine tunnels, ports, night deliveries in cities – the places where diesel is increasingly unwelcome.

But note what does not change: brakes, tyres, suspension, steering, cab and air brake parts still wear on any truck. Parts demand does not disappear. It moves.

Chart comparing a typical battery-electric truck range of under 500 km per charge with one-way long-haul corridors of 500 to over 2,000 km in Africa, Asia and South America

Where electric trucks still struggle

1. Range against real routes

Most electric trucks on the market cover under 500 km per charge. A single long-haul trip in our markets often runs 500 to 2,000 km. Electric wins on fixed short loops and loses on the long corridor – and the long corridor is most of the freight.

2. Charging built for trucks

A heavy truck needs 250 to 450 kW. Public chargers were designed for cars, and depot charging often means a grid upgrade before the first truck arrives.

Chart comparing public car fast chargers at 50 to 150 kW with heavy truck charging needs of 250 to 450 kW

3. Battery life, heat, and resale value

Batteries age faster in extreme heat and dust. Nobody can yet predict what an electric truck will be worth after five years – which is why lenders increasingly underwrite the transport contract rather than the truck itself. In markets with no second-hand demand for electric trucks, that risk can outweigh the fuel saving.

4. Power you can rely on

If your depot cannot guarantee electricity, you cannot guarantee deliveries.

What you will actually spend money on

For most fleets reading this, 2026 will not be the year you switch. It will be the year fuel takes a bigger bite out of the same revenue.

If you stay with diesel – and most fleets will – then fuel economy is now a maintenance issue. Worn injectors, brakes that drag, a slipping clutch, the wrong grade of oil: all of them burn fuel at record prices. A properly maintained truck is the cheapest fuel-saving technology you can buy this year.

If you are considering electric, ask three questions before you sign anything:

Is my route fixed and under about 400 km?
Can my depot get reliable power at the price I was quoted?
Who will service the battery in my country, and at what cost?

If any answer is no, the diesel truck you already own is still the right truck for now.

The bottom line. The diesel HOWO you buy this year will still be working through the whole transition. Keep it maintained and it will earn through it – and if you run one of the new electric fleets, we supply the parts that still wear: brakes, suspension, steering, cab and electrical components. Send your part number, or a photo of the old part – WG, AZ or VG – and we will match it and quote within one working day.

Cover photo: MAN eTGX electric truck at IAA Transportation 2024, by MarcelX42, via Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0 (cropped).

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Electric Trucks vs Diesel: The Advantages, and the Problems Still Unsolved