Electric lorries exceed range claims but oversized batteries raise costs, study finds

The International Council on Clean Transportation (ICCT) analysed data from 91 battery-electric heavy-duty trucks operating across Europe in multimodal, shuttle and regional distribution services. The study shows that the vehicles delivered real-world ranges up to 19% higher than advertised by their manufacturers, while consuming on average 65% less energy than diesel trucks. 

Yet oversized batteries, cautious charging habits and high purchase costs are preventing fleets from realising the full financial benefits.

Range anxiety is giving way to real-world confidence

One of the most striking findings is that electric lorries are travelling further than their manufacturers claim. The report notes that “vehicles experienced real-world driving ranges that were 11% to 19% higher than the nominal values advertised by OEMs.”

This challenges one of the main barriers to adoption. Fleets using electric HGVs in regional distribution are discovering that the 300 km ranges typically advertised by OEMs are conservative. Even in multi-destination distribution, the least predictable of the three use cases examined, trucks achieved nearly 20% more than expected. 

In short, the study suggests that range anxiety, long seen as the Achilles heel of electric freight, may be overstated.

Efficiency gains put diesel in the shade

The study also found that electric lorries consume dramatically less energy than their diesel counterparts. According to the ICCT, “energy consumption ranged from 92 to 150 kWh per 100 km and was on average 65% lower than the consumption of equivalent diesel trucks.”

Part of this advantage comes from regenerative braking, which returned as much as a third of gross energy consumption back into the battery.

 “Regenerated braking energy amounted to an average 19% and up to 32%,” the report noted. 

In contrast, diesel vehicles simply lose all braking energy as heat. 

When combined with the higher efficiency of electric drivetrains, typically close to 90%, compared with under 50% for diesel, the efficiency gap is significant.

Different use cases reveal different strengths

The study examined three operational models: multimodal transport, quasi-shuttle distribution, and multi-destination regional distribution.

Multimodal operations, where HGVs connect ports or rail terminals to customer sites, averaged around 100 km per day but could peak at 450 km. Quasi-shuttle services, shuttling between factory and warehouse, proved the most demanding, with lorries covering up to 12,000 km per month. Multi-destination distribution, serving multiple customers on variable routes, sat between the two extremes.

Despite the operational diversity, energy performance was consistently strong. Quasi-shuttle operations consumed 110 kWh per 100 km on average, while multi-destination distribution performed even better at 107 kWh. Multimodal operations were slightly higher at 116 kWh, partly due to heavier loads. What the cases show is that electric trucks can adapt to varied models (from highly predictable shuttle runs to complex, shifting distribution routes) with broadly positive results.

Oversized batteries undermine the business case

Yet if the lorries are proving their technical capabilities, the economics are more complicated. The ICCT highlights that “the trucks analysed in this report tended to have oversized batteries, with an average depth of discharge of only 44%.”

Operators have erred on the side of caution, buying vehicles with larger batteries to cover worst-case days with heavier payloads or longer routes. But in practice, much of this capacity remains unused. 

Oversized batteries inflate purchase costs and leasing rates, delaying the point at which electric trucks can reach cost parity with diesel. 

“This underutilisation negatively impacted total cost of ownership parity with equivalent diesel trucks due to the high battery costs,” the report concluded.

Charging behaviour adds to inefficiencies

Charging patterns reinforce this conservative approach. The ICCT examined more than 1,200 charging sessions and found that most began with batteries already more than half full. 

“58% of charging sessions started with an SOC above 50%… 83% of sessions ended above 90%,” the report states.

Most charging also happened during the middle of the day, when trucks returned from morning rounds, rather than overnight when electricity is often cheaper.

 “Only 9% of depot charging sessions occurred overnight,” the ICCT found.

While understandable from a risk-management perspective, this approach raises costs unnecessarily. The report argues that fleets could reduce expenses by shifting more charging to off-peak hours, negotiating better electricity contracts, and installing on-site renewable generation.

Costs show both savings and premiums

Where electric trucks perform strongly is on fuel costs. The study found that fleets cut fuel expenses by 26–51% compared with diesel, paying €0.25 to €0.35 per kWh for electricity.

But when the full cost picture is considered, the results are mixed. In one case, “transport costs using this vehicle in its current use case are 50% higher than the costs of equivalent operations with a diesel vehicle,” according to the fleet involved.

A breakdown over 5.5 years from one operator showed that driver wages represented the largest share at 32%, followed by tractor rental at 29%. Energy, while far cheaper than diesel, still only accounted for 10% of costs, with maintenance at 13% and tolls at 7%. 

The lesson here is that while operational costs are falling, higher capital and leasing costs still weigh heavily.

Policy measures could tilt the balance

The ICCT sets out several policy levers that could help shift the balance. Chief among them is the implementation of the Eurovignette Directive, which would allow Member States to waive or reduce tolls for zero-emission trucks. Since tolls can represent up to 7% of TCO, such a measure would have immediate impact.

The study also recommends “residual value guarantees and credit risk guarantees” to make leasing cheaper and less risky, and calls for the rapid rollout of the EU’s Affordable Energy Action Plan to reduce electricity costs and grid connection delays. Demand aggregation platforms, the report suggests, could also give OEMs stronger market signals, reducing delivery times and improving price transparency.

Customers push the transition

Interestingly, fleets reported that customer demand is already playing a decisive role. 

“Customer willingness is a crucial factor for enabling electric truck deployment,” as the report phrases. 

Large shippers seeking to cut their scope 3 emissions often provide the impetus for transport operators to trial electric vehicles, sometimes even co-investing in charging infrastructure.

This finding underlines that electrification is not just a supply-side question of vehicle technology and infrastructure but also a demand-driven shift led by shippers under pressure to decarbonise.

A technology proven, but costs not yet

The ICCT’s analysis provides one of the clearest pictures yet of how electric heavy-duty lorries perform in practice. The message is that the technology is sound: the vehicles are efficient, reliable and often exceed expectations. The obstacles are now primarily economic and organisationa; how to size batteries correctly, how to charge more intelligently, how to finance assets in a way that spreads risk.

As the report concludes,

“use cases that combine high daily driving distances, route predictability and frequent charging opportunities offer the best business case.” In those settings, cost parity with diesel may be within reach sooner than many expect.

For now, though, the sector faces a dual challenge: convincing fleets that electric trucks can deliver operationally, and ensuring that policies, utilities and financial instruments align to make them pay off economically.