In recent years, China's new energy heavy-duty truck market has shown vigorous growth, with sales and penetration rates continuing to rise, becoming a focal point of industry attention.

In the first quarter of 2025, the new energy heavy-duty truck market demonstrated unprecedented vitality. According to data from the Special Purpose Vehicle Data Resource Database, sales of new energy heavy-duty trucks in China reached 30,300 units in the first quarter of 2025, representing a year-on-year increase of 177%. This growth is driven by the synergistic effects of ‘policy-market-technology.’

On the policy front, initiatives such as ‘trade-in incentives,’ purchase tax exemptions, and fiscal subsidies have significantly stimulated market demand. Meanwhile, as the cost of power batteries continues to decline, the initial purchase cost of new energy heavy-duty trucks is no longer a major concern for users. According to a research report by CITIC Securities, calculations show that the lifecycle cost advantage of pure electric heavy-duty trucks over traditional diesel heavy-duty trucks could reach 500,000 to 1,000,000 yuan in 2024, whereas this cost advantage was less than 200,000 yuan in 2022. The primary factors driving the cost advantage of pure electric heavy-duty trucks are the decline in battery costs and improvements in fast-charging technology.

In terms of market penetration, by the first quarter of 2025, the market penetration rate of new energy heavy-duty trucks in China reached 19.7%, compared to just 8.1% in the same period of the previous year, showing a significant upward trend. Data indicates that over the next decade, the global market share of electrified medium and heavy-duty trucks will reach 30%, generating over 100 billion US dollars in annual sales.

Industry insiders believe that, drawing parallels with the development logic of new energy passenger vehicles, the current electric heavy-duty truck market closely resembles the early stages of the new energy passenger vehicle market, potentially on the brink of explosive growth with immense market potential. An increasing number of companies are entering the new energy heavy-duty truck sector, including traditional heavy-duty truck manufacturers like FAW and Shaanxi Automobile, as well as industry leaders like CIMC Vehicles, which is focusing on pure electric tractor-trailers and aiming to reshape the industry landscape.

How is the new energy heavy-duty truck market performing today, and where is it headed in the future?

01 The Three Main Product Combinations for New Energy Heavy-Duty Trucks

As the new energy heavy-duty truck market in China continues to heat up, the mainstream technical routes for different application scenarios have gradually become clear. Currently, the industry has mainly formed the following three typical combination models.

The first type is pure electric heavy-duty special-purpose vehicles. This model primarily consists of ‘petrol-to-electric’ vehicles, typically using an 8x4 chassis with a special-purpose vehicle superstructure. The advantages of this vehicle type are quite evident. First, the conversion cost is low, as traditional production processes can be reused. Second, in closed-off scenarios, range anxiety is minimal, as overnight charging can meet the demand for full-day operations. Third, it can also benefit from dual incentives: new energy vehicle road rights and local operational subsidies. Thanks to these advantages, this vehicle type is widely applied in scenarios such as urban construction debris transport and mining dump trucks.

Take the CIMC-Shaanxi Automobile integrated U-type construction waste truck as an example. This product combines Shaanxi Automobile's robust dump truck chassis with CIMC's stable and durable upper structure, designed as an integrated system to precisely match green urban construction waste transportation scenarios. Additionally, it uses braking energy recovery for charging, improving energy efficiency, making the vehicle a powerful ally for green urban construction while significantly enhancing users' economic benefits. In the future, the Zhongji-Shaanxi Automobile Cooperation Organisation will continue to precisely align with market demands through ‘three-good products,’ highlight the outstanding advantages of products through ‘five-good values,’ accelerate the market layout of integrated 3.0 products, and provide global customers with more efficient, reliable, and intelligent road solutions, setting new benchmarks and standards for new productive forces.

Zhongji • Shaanxi Automobile Integrated U-Shaped Dump Truck

The second category is new energy tractor-trailer combinations, primarily consisting of a tractor unit paired with a standard semi-trailer. This configuration is primarily used in scenarios such as port container transportation and short-haul logistics for steel mills. Major original equipment manufacturers (OEMs) are also launching similar product combinations. For example, new energy heavy-duty truck manufacturers like Sany and Yutong are iterating their pure electric cargo trucks and special-purpose vehicle products;

The third category is pure electric tractor-trailer combinations. This vehicle type refers to a combination product consisting of a pure electric tractor and a pure electric semi-trailer, which is the most technologically advanced combination among the three mentioned above. It has significant advantages: first, the advanced technology of pure electric tractor-trailer combinations. Compared to traditional new energy tractor-trailers (where only the tractor is electrified), the semi-trailer of a pure electric tractor-trailer is also equipped with an electric motor and energy recovery system, enabling it to recover more energy during braking and downhill driving, thereby effectively extending its range. Additionally, the trailer's electric motor can assist the tractor in climbing hills, making it particularly suitable for complex terrains such as mountainous or mining areas, reducing the load on the main motor and extending battery life. Second, pure electric tractor-trailer trains have strong adaptability to various scenarios and can be expanded from closed scenarios to medium- and long-distance transportation. Traditional pure electric heavy-duty vehicles (such as dump trucks) rely on closed scenarios and battery swapping, typically operating only in urban construction or mining areas. New energy tractor-trailer trains are generally used for short-haul transportation in ports, warehouses, steel mills, and logistics parks. However, pure electric head-mounted trains, with their longer range (350 km+) and rapid energy replenishment capabilities, are poised to penetrate the medium-to-long-distance transportation market. Thirdly, pure electric head-mounted trains offer a TCO (Total Cost of Ownership) advantage. Although the initial purchase cost is higher, long-term maintenance and repair costs are lower than those of fuel-powered vehicles and conventional electric tractors, thanks to energy recovery to reduce energy consumption and dual motors to minimise wear and tear on the main vehicle.

Pure electric tractor-trailers, with their high technical integration and strong adaptability to various scenarios, have the potential to become the mainstream direction for new energy heavy-duty trucks. If they can penetrate the long-haul logistics market in the future, this product will become the core solution for zero-emission freight transport.

CIMC Vehicles firmly believes that the future will usher in the era of pure electric tractor-trailers, with the mainstream configuration being: pure electric tractor units paired with pure electric semi-trailers. When this era arrives, in mainstream scenarios such as cold chain transportation, e-commerce logistics, short-distance container transshipment at ports, automotive parts logistics, and coal logistics, conventional semi-trailers may be replaced by pure electric semi-trailers, or even transport robots.

02 CIMC Vehicles' Innovative Practices: Pure Electric Tractor-Trailer Combinations

China's new energy tractor-trailer train industry is poised for explosive growth opportunities. CIMC Vehicles is actively innovating and developing pure electric tractor-trailer train products, aiming to become an explorer, builder, and promoter across the entire value chain.

Through close collaboration with strategic partner automakers, CIMC Vehicles has established a technical innovation platform for pure electric tractor-trailer trains (EV-RT). Based on the ‘good tractor, good trailer’ business model as its operational foundation, the company focuses on systemic innovations such as ‘tractor-trailer coordinated control’ and ‘tractor-trailer coordinated braking energy recovery,’ continuously driving technological breakthroughs and application scenario innovations in pure electric tractor-trailer trains.

In fact, as early as 2018, CIMC Vehicles launched the ‘Shuxiang Project’ to explore unmanned pure electric terminal container transfer vehicles. In 2023, Zhongji Vehicles successfully launched a pure electric semi-trailer mixer truck. In 2024, Zhongji Vehicles first introduced its independently developed pure electric head-trailer train J-RT1.0 mixer truck to the market, with batch deployment in the Xi'an market for operations. The primary application scenarios are port transportation and concrete logistics. The head-trailer train demonstrates reliable manoeuvrability, achieving energy consumption reduction of up to 37.7%.

By 2025, CIMC Vehicles will further develop pure electric front-mounted dump trucks (EV-RT 2.0-7A dump trucks) and pure electric front-mounted mixer trucks (EV-RT 2.0-mixer trucks); in 2026, it plans to launch intelligent pure electric front-mounted refrigerated trucks and intelligent pure electric automotive parts logistics trucks.

The promotion of pure electric articulated trucks not only relies on the products themselves but also requires the establishment of market access channels. In 2025, CIMC Vehicles plans to establish a pure electric articulated truck assembly base in Luzhou, Sichuan, and set up four direct-operated stores in Sichuan, Chongqing, Yunnan, and Guizhou, forming a sales and service network covering the southwestern region. These stores will not only handle vehicle sales and after-sales service functions but also facilitate communication between users, operators, manufacturers, and local government authorities responsible for vehicle registration, while providing vehicle loans and used vehicle transaction services.

03 Conclusion

Driven by the continued release of policy incentives and technological innovation, China's new energy heavy-duty truck industry is facing unprecedented development opportunities. From closed-loop scenarios to long-haul logistics, and from technical validation to large-scale commercialisation, innovative products like pure electric tractor-trailers are reshaping the industry landscape with unstoppable momentum.

A comprehensive industrial ecosystem for new energy heavy-duty trucks is taking shape, with each step filled with challenges yet redefining industry rules. History has proven that all great endeavours are born from the persistence in pursuing ‘difficult yet correct endeavours.’ We look forward to the golden age of pure electric tractor-trailers.