Study Finds US Class 8 Battery-Electric Truck Prices Rising
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Prices of U.S. Class 8 battery-electric trucks are on the rise at the same time as their European counterparts decline, raising questions about why and transparency at a time when demand is falling far short of expectations, according to a recent study.
The median price of a battery-electric Class 8 tractor in the U.S. rose 27% overall between model year 2020 and model year 2025, with the latest model-year price the first in three years to top $400,000, according to the study by the .
Over the same period, the median price of the equivalent tractor in the European Union decreased 32% and the cost of lithium-ion battery packs — typically cited as the most expensive components on said trucks — fell too, the study found.
Authored by the ICCT’s Yihao Xie and Ray Minjares, the study found that U.S. prices for Class 5 or smaller battery-electric trucks also fell over the period under review.
The median price of a model year 2025 U.S. battery-electric Class 8 tractor was $411,200, while the median price of a diesel equivalent was $172,500. The median price of a battery-electric Class 8 tractor rose $87,100, the study found. Diesel truck prices increased by 12% or $18,000 over the same period.
(International Council on Clean Transportation)
Price Discovery
Xie and Minjares said U.S. price data for heavy-duty tractors was hard to come by, and the reasons why prices for the biggest trucks on the road are around $90,000 higher than for equivalent vehicles in Europe were even tougher to uncover.
The study authors said manufacturers — the majority of whom sell battery-electric trucks on both sides of the Atlantic — offered a variety of suggestions for escalating U.S. prices, including raw material costs and higher demand for vehicle warranties.
And truck makers said differences in U.S. and European supply chains could be the cause of the prices heading in opposite directions.
Also, one told the authors that U.S. tractors will be consistently more expensive than European trucks due to longer driving ranges requiring larger or more batteries.
Sales of battery-electric tractors in the U.S. have failed to meet either manufacturers’ or advocates’ expectations.
Daimler Truck North America — the parent company of Class 8 brands Freightliner and Western Star — cited underwhelming battery-electric truck adoption rates as one reason for laying off 2,000 production plant employees in July.
Freightliner sells two battery-electric trucks — the eCascadia tractor and eM2 medium-duty truck.
Among the layoffs were staff at DTNA’s Portland, Ore., production plant. The Portland facility builds eCascadias and eM2s as well as Western Star’s X-Series diesel-powered lineup.
But a former DTNA executive argued the truck maker and its peers have only themselves to blame.
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“[The ICCT report] shows vehicle battery pack prices continue to fall and that while prices of electric trucks are dropping in the smaller models, they remain sticky in the larger vehicle segments,” Rustam Kocher said in comments released alongside the study.
“Legacy truck manufacturers may see short-term profit protection by overcharging for short-range medium- and heavy-duty electric trucks, but when the market opens up — and it will — they will not be in a competitive position,” he warned.
Among the Class 8 battery-electric tractors set to see a sales push in the U.S. in the coming months are the Tesla Semi and Windrose R700.
Slow Adoption
Two of the main reasons cited for the slow adoption rate are price compared with diesel trucks and the elongated freight rate recession.
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Another is the lack of public charging infrastructure. In July, DTNA lambasted the buildout rate in the state arguably fighting hardest to push adoption of battery-electric and other zero-emission tractors.
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In a July 14 letter to the , the largest supplier of Class 8 tractors in U.S. warned: “Despite the substantial effort to sell ZEVs in California, the demand for [medium- and heavy-duty] ZEVs has not developed sufficiently to match the percentages in the [Advanced Clean Trucks rule]. The single biggest factor inhibiting sales is a complete lack of adequate charging infrastructure to support commercial ZEVs.”
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Less than a month later, DTNA teamed up with International Motors, Paccar Inc. and Volvo Group North America in a lawsuit seeking relief from adherence to the Golden State’s emissions regulations.
The truck makers cited the bind they find themselves in between California obligations and federal government actions, including Congress voiding the state’s federal pre-emption waiver, proposals President Donald Trump signed into law June 12.
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