HANNOVER (dpa-AFX) - According to a study, electric trucks could become standard on German roads in just a few years and almost completely replace diesel trucks by 2040. This is the conclusion of a study by the auditing firm PwC for the IAA Transportation commercial vehicle trade fair next week in Hanover. By 2030, more than one in five trucks and buses worldwide will be battery-electric, expects the PwC strategy consultancy Strategy&, which carried out the analysis. By 2040, this figure could be as high as 90 percent. In 2030, the experts expect global sales of 600,000 electric trucks, and ten years later, 2.7 million per year.
"After the transport sector struggled for a long time with the switch to electric trucks, we are now observing a profound change in the industry," says Jörn Neuhausen, Head of Electromobility at Strategy& Germany. New platforms for electric commercial vehicles would pave the way for widespread use in a wide variety of application scenarios. By 2030, the "tipping point" will be reached, from which the transformation of the industry will "accelerate significantly," says Neuhausen. An important driver here are the regulations for reducing CO2 emissions from trucks, which will be noticeably tightened in all major regions of the world from 2030.
Range and charging speed increase
According to the study, the range of electric trucks is expected to increase by 50 percent by the end of the decade, from 600 to 900 kilometers. The charging speed will even triple, and the prices for the electric drive train will fall by ten percent. As a result, electric trucks and buses could then be used economically in long-distance transport and on scheduled services, and their overall costs would even be cheaper than diesel vehicles.
However, this requires a consistent expansion of the charging infrastructure. This will require significant investment in the coming years - both from the public sector and, above all, from the logistics industry itself, which will have to set up more charging points in its depots. By 2035, public investment in Europe will therefore be 6.1 billion euros to build 720 charging parks and thus create a nationwide charging infrastructure. In addition, companies themselves will have to raise another 28.6 billion euros for around 28,500 of their own charging points.
At the IAA Transportation, which begins on Monday with a press day, manufacturers such as Daimler Truck , Scania and Volvo Trucks will be presenting their latest electric and hydrogen-powered trucks. A total of 1,650 exhibitors from 41 countries have announced their participation. The Chinese electric car manufacturer BYD is also represented with an electric double-decker bus, Tesla shows its electric semi-trailer truck./fjo/DP/he
