More than 59,000 zero-emission trucks on US roads; deployments almost halve amid high costs and regulatory uncertainty

Calstart data shows how zero-emission truck (ZET) deployment in the US has risen from 17,734 in June 2023 to 42,881 in June 2024, and again to 59,313 in June 2025. With this, ZETs currently represent 39% of the total truck stock in the US.

The number of OEMs represented in these deployments increased from 38 to 42 in the first half of 2025. The Calstart report notes that this demonstrates OEMs’ continued market participation in developing ZETs.

While deployments are continuing to increase, the rate at which they are being deployed has dropped significantly over the past year. Just 6,5226 ZETs were deployed in the first six months of 2025, almost half the number of ZETs deployed during the same period in 2024. In fact, this period marked the lowest mid-year total since before 2023.

This latest data shows continued adoption of ZETs in the US, but reflects greater hesitancy than seen in previous years – likely a result of a culmination of a number of headwinds, ranging from high upfront vehicle costs to regulatory uncertainty.

 “Calstart’s newest report shows that demand for clean trucks continues despite federal roadblocks,” said Katherine Garcia, director of environmental organisation Sierra Club’s ‘Clean Transportation for All’ campaign. “US fleets are adopting a wide variety of zero-emission vehicles, including medium-duty trucks, step vans, cargo vans, and yard tractors to reduce their operational costs and meet environmental commitments.”

The first half of 2025 saw 5,375 cargo vans deployed – roughly 3.56% of total cargo van deployments. On average, more than 11,000 cargo vans were deployed in the six-month segments prior to this, so the first half of 2025 saw a significant dip in deployments.

On the contrary, more medium-duty trucks were deployed in the first half of 2025 (311) than in all of 2024 (192), a 61% increase in just six months.

“Many more fleets could benefit from switching to zero-emission trucks, if manufacturers fully committed to producing more zero-emission trucks and ensured they are affordable,” Garcia added. “Our communities need truck manufacturers and legislators to resist the relentless lobbying of the fossil fuel industry and instead help to accelerate the market to zero-emission trucks. We urgently need clean trucks to make freight movement more affordable and healthier.”

ZET deployment headwinds

There are currently a number of headwinds with the potential to impact ZET deployment in the US. First of all, there’s the longstanding issue of high upfront vehicle and infrastructure costs. For example, a September 2025 study from the International Council on Clean Transportation (ICCT) found that the median average price for a new battery electric Class 8 tractor truck in the US was $411,200, while the median price of a diesel equivalent was $172,500.

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What may support deployment in this respect is the long-term cost benefits of owning and operating ZETs compared with traditional ICE trucks. For instance, the National Laboratory of the Rockies (NLR) conducted a study which found that fuel efficiency in battery electric trucks is at least double that of diesel equivalents across all vehicle segments, while offering maintenance savings of 40-50 cents per mile.

"In this era of affordability, the [Calstart] report shows that the trucking industry is continuing to turn to zero emission trucks because customers want the cost savings and efficiency they provide,” said Guillermo Ortiz, senior clean vehicles advocate at the Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC). “It also shows how important state incentives are in unlocking these benefits. Now we need to see truck manufacturers disclose information on the cost of their vehicles – to ensure the public and fleets are truly getting value for money."

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Of course, the high cost of purchasing a vehicle is just one part of the problem – there’s also an issue of infrastructure immaturity. Unlike refuelling stations – of which there approximately 147,000 in the US – public and private EV charging networks are still maturing.

This can lead to range anxiety, which is far from ideal for trucks being used to transport goods all around the country. However, the Calstart report has identified that regional freight corridors ranging between 300 and 400 miles for a round trip are rapidly becoming some of the most practical and economical duty cycles for ZETs”.

These routes – which include the likes of Chicago-Indianapolis, Cleveland-Pittsburgh, Houston-San Antonio and Memphis-Nashville – present opportune mileage for a ZET to achieve annual fuel savings of $34,000-$45,000. Finding the right use cases that unlock the full operational cost benefits of a ZET will be key to their long-term feasibility as an ICE truck alternative.

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Finally, and perhaps most crucially in terms of slowing deployment in the past year, there is the issue of regulatory and policy uncertainty. With the One Big Beautiful Bill Act enacted into law in July 2025, many of the incentives for ZEV adoption were repealed.

Federal income tax credits for electric vehicles officially expired in September 2025 and the Alternative Fuel Vehicle Refueling Property Credit – introduced during the Biden administration under the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) to incentivise the installation of EV charging equipment or alternative fuel refuelling infrastructure – is now set to end on 30 June 2026 instead of the planned end date of 31 December 2032.

On top of this, regulatory uncertainty persisted on a state-level, for example with the waiver uncertainty of the Advanced Clean Truck (ACT) rule and the pullback of Advanced Clean Fleet (ACF) regulations in California.

The ACT is a rule adopted by the California Air Resources Board (CARB) that requires manufacturers to sell an increasing percentage of zero-emission trucks (ZEVs) in the state each year.

While the ACT was finalised and put into state law in May 2025, California’s ACF rule – which would have required fleets to purchase ZETs – was effectively put on hold in 2025 after the state withdrew its federal waiver request. With the separate ACT rule requiring manufacturers to sell more ZEVs remaining in place, uncertainty around enforcement has weakened near-term demand signals.

How does the US compare to Europe and China in terms of ZEV deployment and regulation?

Regulation surrounding ZET deployment differs around the world. The EU, for example, has created a framework which requires member states imposing distance-based tolls on HGVs to vary those tolls based on a vehicle’s CO₂ emissions. That means that, where tolls apply, zero-emission trucks can be tolled at lower rates than diesel trucks.

Other examples from individual countries in Europe include the Netherlands’ zero- emission zone for freight, which saw battery electric van adoption jump from 11% to 78% from the first half of 2024 to the first half of 2025, with battery electric medium trucks experiencing a similar jump, from 8% to 76%.

Statistics from the European Automobile Manufacturers Association (ACEA) show a 64.9% increase in new electric truck registrations in the EU for the first three quarters of 2025, compared with the first three quarters of 2024. Meanwhile, new petrol truck registrations dropped by 38.9% and new diesel truck registrations were down 11.5%.

“BEVs will inevitably dominate long haulage,” claimed Dr Andreas Kammel, vice president of alternative drivetrains at commercial vehicle manufacturer TRATON – the parent company of Scania, Man, International and Volkswagen Truck & Bus, when speaking at the Automotive Logistics & Supply Chain Europe conference in 2025.

“Because of the low energy cost, it is very hard to get around a scenario where they don't beat diesel on cost,” he added.

Dr Kammel emphasised that to get to this point, investment in either (or both) infrastructure and battery manufacturing will be crucial. “Today's batteries with tomorrow's infrastructure is enough, or today's infrastructure with tomorrow's batteries would almost be enough,” he explained.

In China, sales of zero-emission medium- and heavy-duty vehicles reached a peak in 2024, with more than 230,000 units sold – according to ICCT data. In the first half of 2025, the Chinese ZET market grew by 115% year-over-year as sales of medium-duty trucks doubled and sales of heavy-duty trucks and tractor-trailers nearly tripled from the same period in 2024.

Unlike passenger EVs, China does not yet have a single nationwide heavy-duty zero-emission truck mandate similar to Europe’s CO₂-differentiated tolling or California’s ACT rule. However, Chinese regulators have been working on regulations that would require the sale of zero-emission commercial vehicles by manufacturers as a supply-side mechanism similar in spirit to light-duty new energy vehicle (NEV) mandates.

Research and regulatory review suggest China is considering annual credit requirements tied to the production or import of zero-emission commercial trucks, although final details and formal adoption timelines are still pending. This emerging policy would complement existing light-duty NEV credit standards and aim to integrate heavy commercial vehicles into that system.