Here’s what you need to know:
- Deliveries of zero-emission vehicles (ZEV) by medium- and heavy-duty commercial truck dealers has risen by 16% since 2023.
- Despite rise, dealers remain skeptical of the technology due to acquisition costs, infrastructure challenges and performance limitations.
- Dealers still believe hybrid and hydrogen technology is seen as the best long-term low-emission alternative to diesel engines for the trucking industry.
The number of medium- and heavy-duty truck dealers who have delivered a battery electric truck has jumped from 28% to 44% since 2023, but overall dealer sentiment around non-diesel technology is down substantially, Trucks, Parts, Service uncovered in a recent audience survey.
In 2023, TPS and its sister publication, Clean Trucking, released an in-depth special report on the proliferation of new battery electric vehicles (BEV) and alternative powertrains entering the commercial vehicle space.
In surveying the commercial vehicle audience in conjunction with that report, TPS found that more than a quarter of commercial truck dealers started down their BEV delivery journey, while an overwhelming majority of dealers (83%) expected to integrate BEV sales into future revenue streams, with 35% of survey responders also expecting BEVs to achieve at least 25% of new truck market share by 2040.
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Both of those numbers have since dropped substantially. Today, fewer than half of survey responders say BEV sales are in their company’s future, while only 25% of responders expect BEVs to reach a quarter of new truck sales by 2040. Conversely, the number of responders who think BEVs will never reach 25% of new truck sales is rising, up 12% to 49% of survey responders in 2025.
The commercial truck dealer channel isn’t fully abandoning its support for BEV customers but dealers are clearly reading the tea leaves and following the news.
Dealers believe the barriers that faced widespread BEV adoption in 2023 remain in place and are shifting investment priorities accordingly.
“The market needs to realize the benefit for any alternative to have viability. You cannot legislate use when the product is inferior, expensive and cannot duplicate current modes of transporting freight,” stated one responder.
And dealers believe all those barriers remain major areas of concern.
Among TPS survey responders, vehicle performance limitations remain the biggest hurdle to bring BEVs to the marketplace. In 2023, 40% of survey responders pegged it as the largest barrier to adoption and in 2025 that segment increased to 42%. Responders weren’t shy about detailing why they think BEVs don’t make sense for trucking either.
“I don’t think people understand the functionality and limitations,” said one responder.
Another noted customers don’t want trucks that are “not able to run long enough to deliver loads [or] make multiple deliveries in a day.”
And that’s to say nothing for vocational applications. Dealers say power take-off applications and BEVs don’t mix.
“Having the technology to have some type of electronic PTO and a battery that can last 16 to 18 hours for wintertime operations, then also be able to be charged within a four-hour period when we are off the clock. Just don't think we are there yet,” said a responder. “If electrification is in our future let it come slowly and not be forced upon us.”
Other responders validated the PTO limitations, with some also suggesting reduced functionality for welding equipment and other machinery.
One responder stated BEV limitations remain so expansive it’s hard to even give the equipment any thought. “Who cares about supporting EV customers? The challenge is that these customers do not exist because the vehicles do not perform anywhere near TCO of diesel. After that, infrastructure and grid capacity can start to be discussed.”
And survey responders believe the energy grid remains woefully unprepared to support charging as well. The percentage of responders citing charging infrastructure as the largest barrier to BEV adoption did fall to 29% from 36% in 2023 but remained second in the industry’s list of concerns. Acquisition cost was third in both surveys. Many responders also noted charging limitations should be included when considering performance limitations.
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“Range and charging network goes hand in hand,” one said.
Another added trucking isn’t ready for charging while on the road, with a third stating, “The first challenge is understanding of range, weight and charge times. If the truck will [fit] in a customer’s application then the next limitation is the time it takes to get charging infrastructure installed.”
And infrastructure isn’t a small scale project, in time, cost or footprint.
“Right now you can’t find a parking spot in most truck stops in the evening. Many times truckers are forced to park on right of ways and other places to get their off hours. I don’t see the real estate being available to dedicate that many land to EV charging and doing it in a way that works for everyone where EV’s can get into a charging station and find available spots to charge,” said one responder. “Then limited range compounds the issue. I think they may have a place but not in over the road, long-haul type applications. I think there are much better options that make sense we can implement in a quicker fashion that we should be looking into further than we are currently.”
But on that note, TPS responders are uncertain. In 2023, 70% of survey responders felt hybrid electric (34%) or hydrogen (36%) was the best long-term alternative to diesel in the medium- and heavy-duty space. Those numbers are nearly identical (36% hybrid, 35% hydrogen) in 2025.
Trucking failing to coalesce around a single solution isn’t surprising.
The North American Council for Freight Efficiency (NACFE) coined the term ‘messy middle’ to refer to the industry’s current period of non-diesel testing and evaluation in 2018, and states it will still be years before vehicle technologies, equipment costs and infrastructure investments reach a level the industry can truly build on.
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In the meantime, dealers and service providers will remain at a crossroads, forced to choose between investing in a potentially lucrative but indeterminate future customer base or remain zeroed in on the needs of today’s diesel-driven market.
For many dealers, it’s an easier choice today than it was two years ago. Until alternative powertrains become viable option for many of their own customers, dealers are going to keep their focus on the here and now. As one responder put it, today’s customers remain “die-hard fans of diesel powered vehicles! Maybe once there’s more infrastructure put into place then customers will be more inclined to purchase EVs.”
“The ratio of expense to capabilities is laughable,” another stated. “No customer who cares about value for money will purchase these units until that ratio is corrected.”
Another added, “There will always be a headwind until we can replace one ICE truck with one BEV truck for a comparable cost.”
