HANNOVER, Germany – Europe will need a major expansion of charging and hydrogen infrastructure, combined with stronger economic incentives, if battery-electric and hydrogen-powered trucks are to move beyond early adopters and become a mainstream part of commercial fleets.
That was the message from Daimler Truck CEO Karin Rådström during the company’s Media Night in Hanover, Germany, ahead of IAA Transportation 2026.
Rådström outlined several elements she believes are necessary to accelerate the transition: a large-scale public network of megawatt chargers, hydrogen stations designed specifically for trucks and road toll systems that provide stronger financial incentives for zero-emission vehicles.
Mercedes-Benz Trucks accounted for about 38% of Europe’s market for locally CO2-free medium- and heavy-duty trucks during the first half of 2026. Customers have also driven the eActros 600 for more than 160 million kilometers since series production began at the end of 2024, according to the company.
“Today, there are over 60 electric or zero-emission trucks available in the market, and over 25 different zero-emission bus models from us and from our competitors,” Rådström said. “So our industry has clearly delivered.”
Despite the growing number of models, adoption remains limited. Daimler Truck said heavy-duty battery-electric trucks represented 2% of Europe’s market in 2025. The company estimates that approximately 35% of new trucks would need to operate on batteries or hydrogen by 2030 for the European Union to meet its CO2 targets.
The European Automobile Manufacturers’ Association’s full-year 2025 commercial vehicle registration data, released Jan. 29, showed that electrically chargeable trucks above 3.5 tonnes accounted for 4.2% of the EU market, compared with 2.3% a year earlier.
According to Rådström, customers are being held back primarily by two issues: insufficient infrastructure and the lack of cost parity with diesel-powered trucks.
Chargers, hydrogen infrastructure and road tolls
Europe currently has fewer than 2,000 public truck charging points, Rådström said. Most are standard CCS chargers rather than high-power megawatt systems.
By 2030, she estimates that Europe will need 35,000 megawatt charging points to support the battery-electric trucks required under the bloc’s CO2 targets.
Hydrogen infrastructure faces a similar challenge. Europe has approximately 187 hydrogen stations, most of which supply hydrogen at 350 bar. Rådström said that pressure level is not suitable for trucks and estimated that the continent will need 1,000 suitable hydrogen stations by 2030.
Road tolls are another part of the economic equation.
Rådström pointed to CO2-based road tolls as a mechanism that can narrow the cost gap between electric and diesel trucks. In Germany, the difference between the toll paid by a diesel truck and an electric truck is approximately 33 to 35 cents per kilometer, which she said helps compensate for the higher initial investment associated with electric vehicles.
However, only 13 of the EU’s 27 member states have introduced CO2-based tolls, according to Rådström. Among those countries, fewer than a handful have established a meaningful difference between toll rates for electric and diesel trucks.
What Dachser is seeing across its European network
Stefan Hohm, chief development officer at German logistics provider Dachser, provided a view from the operator side of the transition.
Dachser currently has 25 emission-free delivery areas across Europe and more than 200 battery-electric trucks operating on its network. More than 160 of those vehicles are Mercedes-Benz Actros models.
“We are proud to have more than 200 battery-electric trucks on the road, but the truth is we run more than 15,000,” Hohm said. “So this is only a beginning. And financing the first generation of battery-electric vehicles remains the main hurdle for our transport partners.”
For Hohm, access to electricity and sufficient grid capacity remains one of the biggest obstacles.
A Dachser network study found that almost all of its 300 European branches have access to between 1 and 3 megawatts of grid capacity. In Germany alone, the logistics company works with 800 energy providers.
Hohm said energy providers need to offer clear timelines and binding commitments so logistics operators can plan their investments and fleet transitions with greater certainty.
The difference in road tolls between diesel and electric trucks also varies considerably across Europe. Hohm cited a gap of almost 33 cents per kilometer in Germany, no difference in France and almost €1 per kilometer in Switzerland.
He said Dachser needs a stable regulatory framework that remains in place for at least five to six years.
The company has already installed more than 800 charging stations across its own yards. According to Hohm, depot charging currently offers the strongest operating model, but Dachser still needs public and semi-public charging infrastructure along major European freight corridors, with predictable pricing.
“If you have your own tariff in the depot, it sometimes really messes up the business case if you have to pay more than double when you are charging publicly,” he said.
eActros Lowliner and NextGenH2 move toward commercial operations
Daimler Truck is also continuing to expand its electric and hydrogen vehicle portfolio.
The eActros Lowliner, a battery-electric tractor designed with a low fifth-wheel height to accommodate high-volume mega trailers, opened for orders on Sept. 15.
Series production is scheduled to begin in the second quarter of 2027 at the Mercedes-Benz plant in Wörth, Germany.
The three-battery version offers approximately 500 kilometers of range at full load. Megawatt charging is expected to become available during the second half of 2027, allowing the truck to charge from 10% to 80% in less than 30 minutes, according to the company.
Daimler Truck is also preparing its hydrogen fuel-cell trucks for customer operations.
A small series of 100 Mercedes-Benz NextGenH2 fuel-cell trucks is scheduled to enter customer operations from the end of 2026, with Dachser serving as the first customer.
Hohm said the first truck will operate two shifts from Dachser’s site in Malsch, near Karlsruhe, with an annual mileage target of 220,000 kilometers.
Daimler Truck calls for an early review of EU CO2 rules
The regulatory framework remains another key issue for Daimler Truck.
The company is calling on the European Union to conduct an early review of its heavy-duty CO2 regulation. Daimler Truck argues that the 2030 target needs to be considered alongside the pace of infrastructure development and the total cost of ownership faced by customers.
The 2030 target requires a 43% reduction in CO2 emissions from new heavy-duty vehicles compared with 2019 levels.
The Council of the EU adopted a temporary flexibility measure on March 30. Under the measure, manufacturers can accumulate credits from 2025 through 2029 by exceeding their own annual targets. The Council also said in the same release that the core rules are scheduled for revision in 2027.
Daimler Truck estimates that missing the target would cost approximately €120 million in penalties for every percentage point by which Mercedes-Benz Trucks falls short.
Rådström said a 10-point shortfall “effectively would wipe out the full profitability globally of Mercedes-Benz Trucks for that year.”
An eActros 600 world tour puts electric trucking to the test
The capabilities of the eActros 600 are also being demonstrated through a long-distance European road trip.
Tobias Wagner, a professional driver and content creator known as the “Elektrotrucker,” is driving an eActros 600 approximately 45,000 kilometers across around 30 countries.
The journey is expected to last as long as a year and is planned around no more than 80 charging stops.
For Wagner, the objective extends beyond demonstrating the truck’s range and performance. He wants the tour to shift the conversation surrounding electric heavy-duty vehicles toward the infrastructure and ecosystem still needed to support them at scale.
“Success for me would be that the conversation shifts that we’re not talking about if those trucks work, because they do, I show it every day but more to: okay, it’s working, but what do we need to do as a next step in order to build the ecosystem around those electric trucks?” Wagner said.
