Iran war boosts China e-truck exports

The Iran war, launched by the United States and Israel on February 28, has led to a surge in China's exports of electric heavy trucks, more than doubling to 16,823 vehicles in the four months following the start of the conflict. Half of these exports went to South and Southeast Asia, where diesel prices have spiked due to Iran's closure of the Strait of Hormuz. China's domestic e-truck adoption has also accelerated, with e-trucks now accounting for 30% of truck sales and 140,000 units sold in the first half of the year. Sany, the world's largest maker of electric heavy trucks, is pivoting from Europe to Southeast Asia and shipped its largest single order of 880 trucks in June. The war has shortened the payback period for e-truck buyers from 28 months to 18 months, according to Sany's Zhaoting Yue. Tesla has dropped its goal of volume production for its electric Semi by this year. China's e-truck fleet is expected to save the equivalent of 141 million barrels of oil this year, according to the Centre for Research on Energy and Clean Air.