Battle of the giants: the fight for the future of trucking

MAN and Scania both presented electric long-haul configurations with claimed ranges of up to 720 km, Renault Trucks brought a 660-km E-Tech T, and Volvo extended battery-electric operation into combinations weighing as much as 80 tonnes. At the same time, manufacturers including FOTON, SANY, MAXUS, Dongfeng and Skyworth unveiled trucks aimed at giving Chinese brands a much larger role in European road freight.

MAN pushes the eTGX to 720 km

MAN presented a new generation of its eTGX with revised aerodynamics, stronger recuperation and a new battery generation providing up to 10% more usable energy. The 4×2 tractor can be configured for a claimed range of up to 660 km, while a new 6×2 version fitted with a seventh battery increases this to as much as 720 km.

MAN says the revised truck is also around 3% more energy efficient. Despite the additional battery capacity, the 4×2 tractor has an unladen weight of 10.7 tonnes and can provide payload of up to 25 tonnes with a standard semitrailer. The manufacturer is already producing eTGX and eTGS trucks equipped for Megawatt Charging System charging, with the batteries capable of being charged from 20% to 80% in around 30 minutes.

Scania adds batteries behind the cab

Scania has taken a different route to reaching the same headline figure. Its latest long-haul battery-electric configuration can also provide up to 720 km of range, with additional battery packs positioned behind the cab as well as batteries mounted on and beneath the chassis. In a typical configuration, two additional MP20 battery packs behind the cab provide around 356 kWh of installed capacity.

Scania says the arrangement makes it possible to retain a practical European 6×2*4 tractor and semitrailer combination while increasing the amount of energy carried on board. The truck is also designed for MCS charging. A new extended front section contributes to the efficiency improvements, with Scania claiming that the aerodynamic changes can reduce energy consumption by up to 3%, depending on specification and operation.

Mercedes-Benz targets high-volume transport

Mercedes-Benz Trucks used IAA to expand the eActros family into a more specialised part of the market. The new eActros Lowliner is designed for high-volume transport, where operators need a low fifth-wheel height to run mega-trailers and maximise internal load space.

The model uses technology derived from the eActros 600, including an 800-volt electrical system, lithium iron phosphate batteries and an electric drive axle. It will be offered with two or three battery packs. The three-battery eActros 600 Lowliner has 621 kWh of installed capacity and a manufacturer-quoted range of around 500 km.

Series production at Mercedes-Benz Trucks’ Wörth plant is scheduled to begin in the second quarter of 2027.

Volvo takes electric trucks to 80 tonnes

Volvo Trucks, meanwhile, extended its electric range into substantially heavier combinations. Its new FH Electric configuration is designed for truck-and-trailer combinations weighing up to 80 tonnes, particularly for markets where heavier combinations are already permitted.

The truck carries 640 kWh of usable battery energy. Volvo quotes a range of up to 450 km at 64 tonnes and around 420 km at total weights of 74 or 76 tonnes. Both CCS2 and Megawatt Charging System connections are available. The manufacturer also confirmed the start of series production of its latest long-haul electric generation, including the FH Aero Electric with Extended Range, which can travel up to 700 km on one charge.

[Photo: Volvo FH Electric for heavy combinations. Credit: Volvo Trucks]

Renault Trucks brings 660-km E-Tech T

Renault Trucks’ major long-haul exhibit was the E-Tech T 780, which offers up to 660 km of range on a charge. The truck has been designed to retain full payload capability and compatibility with existing semitrailers, addressing two of the issues that have limited the adoption of battery-electric tractors on longer routes.

Renault Trucks also used Hanover to introduce its 2027 model-year diesel range. The new DE13 R engine and latest Optidriver transmission will be offered across the T, T High, C and K ranges, with the manufacturer claiming fuel savings of up to 4% compared with the previous generation. At the lighter end of its electric range, Renault also presented new E-Tech D distribution trucks and the battery-electric E-Tech Trafic.

DAF widens electric range far beyond the 4×2 tractor

DAF’s IAA announcements focused less on one headline range figure and more on making electric trucks available for a wider variety of transport tasks. The manufacturer added XG and XG+ Electric versions to its battery-electric line-up and introduced new 6×2 tractor configurations with steered pusher or trailing axles.

Electric rigid options now extend to 6×2, 6×4 and 8×4 vehicles, while DAF has developed dedicated chassis for BDF swap-body operations. The company has also changed battery positioning on some models to improve weight distribution. DAF says removing the battery pack beneath the cab and positioning up to four packs further back can increase available payload by as much as 2.5 tonnes in some configurations.

On the diesel side, DAF also presented a new 10×4 five-axle XD or XF chassis with a technical gross vehicle weight of up to 54 tonnes.

BYD enters European heavy trucking

BYD has already attracted considerable attention with the ETT 44, its new 44-tonne 4×2 electric tractor for Europe. The truck has a 651 kWh Blade Battery and supports charging at up to 1.5 MW. BYD claims the battery can be taken from 20% to 80% in around 20 minutes using megawatt charging.

FOTON brings CAVAN BEACON to Europe

BAIC FOTON used IAA to give the CAVAN BEACON new-energy heavy truck its global debut. The platform has been designed to support several powertrain types, including battery-electric, battery swapping and hydrogen-based systems.

The battery-electric configuration is intended to provide more than 600 km of range, while the platform is being developed for charging rates above one megawatt. FOTON has also presented hydrogen versions aimed at substantially longer-distance operation.

More important for European operators may be the infrastructure being built around the trucks. FOTON says it already has sales operations in almost 20 European markets and more than 300 service outlets, and it plans to establish a European technology centre and begin local assembly by 2028.

MAXUS moves up to the 42-tonne class

MAXUS, part of China’s SAIC Motor group, has also moved decisively beyond the light-commercial-vehicle market. The eDELIVER 420L made its European debut in Hanover as a 42-tonne battery-electric tractor aimed at long-haul transport.

Built on SAIC’s modular AILink platform, the truck is equipped with a 615 kWh CATL battery. MAXUS says a 20% to 80% charge can be completed in around 25 minutes. The eDELIVER 420L also uses five-stage regenerative braking and represents an important expansion of the MAXUS brand, which has so far been far better known in Europe for electric vans.

Alongside the heavy tractor, MAXUS presented the smaller eDELIVER 75, a 7.5-tonne electric truck for distribution applications.

SANY launches five electric trucks for Europe

SANY arrived at IAA with an unusually broad range rather than a single flagship model. Its European eTruck portfolio comprises five battery-electric models for logistics, construction and municipal work. The e263S 4×2 tractor is rated for combinations of up to 42 tonnes and carries a 636 kWh LFP battery. Other models include the e263R rigid, the e360 and e363 6×2 chassis and the e435 8×4 construction truck.

SANY says its trucks already have European Whole Vehicle Type Approval, while its European expansion is being supported through Putzmeister and a network of around 650 Alltrucks workshops. The manufacturer also says it has already put more than 50,000 electric trucks into service globally.

Dongfeng bets on hydrogen

Dongfeng took a different approach from most of the battery-electric launches. The Chinese manufacturer made its IAA Transportation debut with three hydrogen-powered commercial vehicles, its T1 new-energy platform and the world premiere of a 400 kW automotive fuel-cell system.

The T1 platform combines the fuel-cell system, hydrogen storage, traction battery, electric drive, central controller and thermal-management system in a modular architecture. Dongfeng says its hydrogen-storage system can enable up to 1,700 km between refuelling in the relevant configuration, although such headline range figures depend heavily on vehicle specification, tanks, load and operating conditions.

Rather than signalling an immediate European sales launch for a single model, the display shows where Dongfeng sees hydrogen fitting into heavy-duty and long-distance freight.

Skyworth targets autonomous freight

Skyworth’s Z9 is one of the more unconventional heavy trucks at this year’s show. The 6×4 battery-electric tractor has a 400 kWh LFP battery and two electric motors producing a combined 610 kW. Its main selling point, however, is automation. The Z9 has been developed for Level 4 autonomous operation and carries five lidar sensors, five millimetre-wave radars and ten HD cameras.

Skyworth envisages the truck operating in controlled environments such as ports, steelworks, rail terminals and dedicated logistics corridors rather than conventional driver-operated long-haul work. The manufacturer says its fleet-management system could allow one operator to supervise as many as 18 autonomous vehicles.

FAW and Farizon use IAA to signal European ambitions

FAW Trucks presented the TL.X Visionary Concept Truck, a future-oriented heavy vehicle developed around a 2036 design horizon. More relevant in the shorter term is the company’s CORTRON CS range, which includes diesel tractors and the battery-electric CS925.

Farizon, the commercial-vehicle brand of Geely, meanwhile brought the Homtruck to Europe. The electric heavy truck has been presented with a roughly 600 kWh battery and a claimed range above 500 km.

For now, however, the Homtruck’s appearance should be viewed as a European debut rather than confirmation of a full European sales launch, with final market specifications and availability still to be announced.

The truck market is becoming more crowded

Tesla’s Semi also formed part of the IAA picture after the company confirmed plans for European deliveries from 2027, while BYD’s ETT 44 launch has already shown how quickly Chinese manufacturers are moving into categories once dominated almost entirely by Europe’s established truck makers.

What stands out in Hanover is therefore not one single breakthrough truck, but the number of manufacturers now trying to make electric heavy transport work across more applications.

Ranges are increasing, megawatt charging is moving into production vehicles, electric trucks are being configured for heavier combinations and specialist work, and manufacturers are paying more attention to payload, trailer compatibility, service networks and charging infrastructure.

At the same time, the arrival of FOTON, MAXUS, SANY, Dongfeng, Skyworth, FAW and Farizon alongside BYD means European truck makers are no longer competing only with each other as the electric market develops.