Daimler Truck survey: more than 40% of fleet decision-makers rate electric trucks more cost-effective than diesel
The non-representative poll covered 197 truck fleet decision-makers in Germany, France and the UK. About a quarter still favoured diesel on total cost of ownership, and 61% said charging infrastructure availability puts electric trucks at a disadvantage.
More than 40% of fleet decision-makers questioned by Daimler Truck said they consider battery-electric trucks the more cost-effective option than diesel on a total cost of ownership basis, according to survey results reported by SMMT on 5 November 2026. The figure reflects respondents' views rather than a measured cost comparison. Daimler Truck ran the survey as a non-representative sample of 197 fleet decision-makers: 71 in Germany, 62 in France and 64 in the UK.
16% of respondents said the two technologies were roughly on par on cost, and about a quarter saw a cost advantage for diesel trucks. Nearly a quarter of the fleet operators surveyed already run battery-electric trucks.
On energy, about two-thirds rated electricity costs as at least as predictable as diesel costs. Access to electricity was a different matter: 61% saw electric trucks at a disadvantage on the availability of charging infrastructure, and Daimler Truck said the survey shows further market ramp-up depends strongly on expanding that infrastructure.
Achim Puchert, chief executive of Mercedes-Benz Trucks, said: "Our customers are already operating battery-electric trucks economically in many applications today, including long-haul transport." He added: "To further accelerate the transformation, we must strengthen the entire ecosystem, especially by expanding charging infrastructure."
Daimler Truck said it regularly surveys fleet operators and transport decision-makers about market requirements, investment criteria and acceptance of new drive technologies.
Sources
SMMTHow THRIVE sources and checks its stories · Corrections, and how to report an error
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