Key facts
- Global electric truck and bus sales nearly doubled in 2025, exceeding 500,000 units.
- China dominated global sales, accounting for nearly 90% of the market.
- This rapid electrification is beginning to impact global diesel demand forecasts.
- In the EU, electric truck sales increased by 71% in 2025, capturing a 4.5% market share.
- China's diesel consumption fell 11% year-on-year in June 2024, partly due to the shift to electric trucks.
Global sales of electric trucks and buses surged in 2025, nearly doubling year-on-year to surpass half a million units, according to a report by the International Council on Clean Transportation (ICCT).
China was the primary driver of this growth, accounting for nearly 90% of global sales. The country's medium and heavy truck segments saw sales more than quintuple over a two-year period. The International Energy Agency (IEA) noted that global sales of these vehicles more than doubled between 2023 and 2024, with China responsible for over four-fifths of those sales.
In China, battery-powered trucks represented 22% of new heavy-truck sales in the first half of 2025, a significant increase from 9.2% in the same period of 2024. Consulting firm Sublime China Information (SCI) estimated that sales for new energy trucks in China rose 175% year-on-year to 76,100 units in the first half of 2025. Research firm BMI anticipates electric trucks will constitute nearly 46% of new sales in China this year and 60% next year.
Outside of China and the United States, battery electric buses made up 56% of zero-emission medium- and heavy-duty vehicle sales. The European Union and India led in volume, with approximately 9,800 and 5,000 units sold, respectively. In the EU, electric truck sales grew by 71% in 2025, achieving a 4.5% market share. Battery electric truck sales remained relatively low globally outside China, reaching about 41,000 units sold.
The rapid adoption of electric trucks in China is beginning to reshape global diesel demand forecasts. Diesel consumption in China fell 11% year-on-year in June 2024, a decline partly attributed by the US Energy Information Administration to the shift towards electric and LNG trucks. The Rhodium Group estimates that China's electric trucks are already cutting oil demand by over one million barrels per day. Energy consultancy Rystad projects that China's transport sector will use 40% less diesel by 2030 compared to 2024 levels, reducing overall consumption by about a quarter.