China’s Electric Trucks Hit 54% Of December Sales, Now Adding Autonomous Driving Technology

China’s electric heavy-duty trucks are breaking records, and now they’re losing their drivers too. In December 2025, new energy heavy-duty trucks made up 54% of all heavy-duty truck sales in China. That’s the first time electric trucks have ever outsold diesel trucks in the country. About 45,300 units were registered that month alone, a 198% jump from December 2024 and a 62% rise from November 2025.

China’s electric heavy-duty trucks just hit a historic milestone — outselling diesel for the very first time.

Part of that surge came from timing. China’s trade-in subsidies were ending, and buyers knew that new NEV purchase taxes were coming in 2026. So many customers moved fast to lock in savings. Lower upfront costs, cheaper fuel, and lower repair bills have reportedly made electric trucks more attractive than diesel for many operators.

For the full year 2025, around 231,000 new energy heavy-duty trucks were registered in China. That’s a 182% increase from 2024. The annual market share for electric trucks hit 29%, up from 14% in 2024. The overall heavy-duty truck market also grew, rising 21% year-on-year.

Shanghai led all cities with 34,100 registrations. Shenzhen followed with 11,700 units, and Guangzhou recorded 9,685. Top brands in the space reportedly include XCMG, SANY, and FAW Jiefang. By early 2026, an estimated half a million or more electric heavy-duty trucks were on China’s roads.

China’s dominance in this space isn’t new. In 2024, the country drove about 80% of global electric truck sales. That year, China sold roughly 82,000 units, giving electric trucks an approximately 9.9% market share. Growth had already been running for some 23 consecutive months heading into 2024.

Now the focus is shifting beyond electrification. With diesel out of the picture, attention is turning to removing human drivers from these trucks altogether. Autonomous driving technology is reportedly being added to electric heavy-duty trucks, pointing toward a fully automated freight model. Analysts and industry observers have described the electrification trend in China’s commercial transport segment as unstoppable, with monthly market share climbing from roughly 17% in February 2025 to 54% by December. CATL has reportedly calculated that NEV commercial vehicles could save operators around 1.2 million yuan over a ten-year operating cycle compared to internal combustion engine trucks. China’s broader investment in the electric vehicle sector, which has seen an estimated $230 billion in subsidies deployed between 2009 and 2023, has helped lay the industrial and technological foundation that now supports the rapid scaling of electric commercial vehicles.

Challenges remain. Batteries still limit how far large trucks can travel on a single charge. But rising oil and gas prices are expected to keep pushing demand for electric trucks higher in the years ahead.

✅ Claims in this article were verified using AI-assisted fact-checking.