China’s electric truck revolution: powerful painkiller for the Iran war?

An electric truck at a supercharging station in Yichang, in China’s central Hubei province.

Photo: NurPhoto via Getty Images For marketing manager Wang Yuan, who sells electric heavy-duty cargo trucks in the rugged landscapes of Xinjiang in western China, business is riding a new and powerful wave.

The commercial vehicle company he works for is a major player in the domestic market.

The lion’s share of its electric heavy trucks are destined for coal-rich provinces including Shanxi and Inner Mongolia, apart from Xinjiang itself.

In Xinjiang alone, according to Wang, sales across all brands reached around 16,700 units in 2025 – a staggering 80 per cent surge from just over 9,000 in 2024.

A combination of leaps in upstream battery and fast-charging technologies, paired with a robust suite of government subsidies, has driven the rapid market penetration of electric trucks.

Engineered for hauling, towing and transporting massive volumes of cargo, equipment or raw materials, they are becoming a common sight across China. “Since 2022, national sales of electric heavy trucks have grown by an average of 30 to 50 per cent annually,” Wang said. “Transport firms are undergoing a change of heart; they have realised that pivoting from conventional diesel-fuelled vehicles to electric ones is the right way forward.” This shift has provided an unexpected cushion against external disruptions – most notably the war in Iran this year, which has destabilised oil and gas supplies and sent prices soaring.

David Zhang, general secretary of the Shanghai-based International Intelligent Vehicle Engineering Association, suggested that this large-scale transition could reduce China’s reliance on Gulf oil and significantly bolster domestic energy security.

Heavy trucks consumed vast quantities of diesel and petroleum in the transport sector, Zhang noted.

Unlike private cars, which spent most of their time idle in garages, these commercial vehicles often operated 24 hours a day, making them exceptionally fuel-intensive, he added. “The high penetration of new-energy heavy trucks can effectively curb domestic diesel consumption and help offset the impact of the Iran war.” According to an article published in January by the commercial vehicle specialist platform cvworld.cn, China’s sales of electric heavy trucks hit 231,100 units in 2025 – a year-on-year surge of 182 per cent.

In December alone, domestic sales of all heavy trucks totalled 84,000 units, with new-energy models acco

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