With the energy crisis, it's too hard to get a lot of electric trucks on European freeways

Daimler Truck Holding AG, the truck and bus manufacturing subsidiary of Daimler, and Volvo Group are showcasing their latest electric trucks in Germany this week, along with dozens of commercial vehicle manufacturers, and more zero-emission trucks than ever before will debut at the IAA Transportation show.

Daimler is unveiling the Mercedes-Benz eActros, which can haul 22 tons of cargo about 500 kilometers on a full charge, and MAN Products, a brand of Traton SE, is showing a 40-ton electric truck that can be charged quickly. Volvo, for its part, is offering visitors a test drive in an electric truck.

The key question executives in the electric truck sector must answer, however, is how long it will take for their heavy-duty electric vehicles to make it off the showroom floor and onto the highway. High battery prices and a virtually nonexistent truck charging network remain major hurdles, and transport companies are weighing whether continuing to invest heavily is worth it amid Europe's unprecedented energy crisis and the global economic slowdown.

With the energy crisis, it's too hard to get a lot of electric trucks on Europe's highways

There are already a lot of electric trucks on the market, but their adoption has been slow, especially in Europe," said BloombergNEF analyst Nikolas Soulopolous. Capacity is still slowly increasing, there are not enough suitable public charging networks available, and truck batteries are still expensive."

Nonetheless, pressure remains on the trucking industry to transition to electrification. As cities strive to improve air quality, European companies operating in urban areas will need to comply with stricter truck regulations. Electrified heavy-duty vehicles will be key to combating climate change, as they produce about a quarter of the EU's greenhouse gas emissions from road traffic.