On April 14th, it was reported that traditional automobile manufacturers were relatively late in starting in the field of commercial electric trucks, which provided opportunities for other electric commercial vehicle manufacturers.
Many fleet customers are struggling to obtain enough electric trucks from brands such as Ford, Peugeot, Renault, or Mercedes. This is because traditional car manufacturers are slow to promote electric vehicles, which has given Tesla a leading position in passenger cars. In the commercial truck industry, traditional car manufacturers also face supply chain challenges.
UK logistics start-up Packfleet uses pure electric trucks in London to provide delivery services to enterprise customers. Packfleet’s business grew ten-fold in 2022, and the company’s CEO Tristan Thomas said that most of the company’s 53 vehicles are Maxus trucks. The company plans to double the fleet size this year.
When Packfleet first sought to purchase pure electric trucks at the end of 2021, “most dealers sneered” because most traditional brand trucks required a 12-month lead time. Even now, when Packfleet has obtained more electric trucks from Peugeot, Ford, and Citroen, they still have to act quickly to buy them.
As fleets shift to zero-emission vehicles, new brands have the opportunity to seize market share. Maxus has a first-mover advantage because SAIC sold about 18,000 Maxus in Western Europe and the Nordic region last year, mainly electric vehicles, including buses and pickups. Maxus’s market share in the new electric truck market in Europe (including the UK) in 2022 is about 6%, and nearly 5,000 electric trucks were sold. This figure exceeded Ford, Nissan, or Fiat, and grew by 28% compared to 2021.
Other companies are also seeking to seize market share, such as Farizon, a truck brand under Geely, which plans to start delivering trucks in Europe in 2024. B-ON acquired the StreetScooter electric truck brand from DHL and is increasing production in Germany and the United States. BrightDrop, a truck brand under General Motors, is also accelerating production in Ontario, Canada.
Asda, a UK supermarket chain, has eight electric trucks, seven of which are Maxus models, and the other is Ford. Asda’s fleet manager Sean Clifton has ordered 50 Ford trucks and 20 Maxus trucks, but as Asda plans to electrify its 1,300 delivery trucks, he needs to purchase more electric trucks.
Although traditional car manufacturers are striving to transform into electrification, Steven Merkt, head of transportation solutions at TE Connectivity, the main supplier of the electric vehicle industry, pointed out that they prioritize the production of passenger cars before trucks due to the tight supply of battery raw materials. Tim Slatter, head of Ford UK, said that the company underestimated the demand for the electric truck E-Transit in the market and is accelerating production. Slatter said that it is difficult to increase the production of the entire lineup, so Ford will stop selling “Fiesta” in Europe this year.
Last week, Ford launched a new small electric truck called the Courier, designed to win European business customers, which also poses a challenge to some start-ups.
Some electric vehicle start-ups, such as Arrival or Canoo, were once very promising, but they have burned a lot of money and fallen behind their competitors. However, SAIC Maxus, Geely Farizon, and General Motors BrightDrop all have strong financial support.
This is a supply-driven market, and many competitors have the opportunity to gain market share.
