Light- and medium-duty electric trucks push the European market in Q1. The new report issued by the ICCT
Within an overall scenario featured by a 20% reduction of truck sales all over the continent, both light- and medium-duty electric trucks showed significant growth. On the other hand, the heavy-duty truck segment did not follow, with figures more or less comparable to the ones we reported last year. Trends and highlights from the latest ICCT report.
All the pics and infographics published here come from the newest ICCT report
ICCT, the International Council on Clean Transportation, has recently issued a new report on market development regarding Q1, 2025, then the months from January to March. Within an overall scenario featured by a 20% reduction of truck sales all over the continent, both light- and medium-duty electric trucks showed significant growth. On the other hand, the heavy-duty truck segment did not follow, with figures more or less comparable to the ones we reported last year.
As underlined by the ICCT, the share of zero-emission vehicles among all light and medium trucks sold rose to an all-time high of 18% with 1,700 vehicles sold in Q1 2025; that was a doubling of both sales share and absolute sales from Q1 2024, when the sales share was 9% and 930 zero-emission vehicles were sold. Most of this increase was driven by sales in the Netherlands, where over 80% of light and medium trucks sold were electric.
Zero-emission heavy-duty trucks: small growth in Europe
As mentioned before, growth in the sales of zero-emission heavy trucks (over 12 tonnes) was less pronounced: The 850 vehicles sold were 1.5% of the market in Q1 2025, up marginally from 750 vehicles sold and a 1.0% sales share in Q1 2024.
Volvo and Renault, the two brands of the Volvo Group, continued to dominate the zero-emission market by volume. They comprised a combined 57% share of all zero-emission heavy truck sales and MAN jumped to third place with a 15% sales share following the launch of its eTGX model. Sales of zero-emission heavy trucks have yet to take off to the same extent for Mercedes, which has long been the largest HDV manufacturer in Europe by volume. Looking at the major European countries, just four nations (Germany, France, the Netherlands, and Sweden) were responsible for 85% of all zero-emission heavy trucks sales.
A different scenario for light- and medium-duty trucks
In Q1 2025, of the 9,300 light and medium trucks (between 3.5 and 12 tonnes) sold, 1,700 (18%) were zero-emission. This marked a nearly twofold increase over Q1 2024, when 930 (8%) of the trucks sold were zero-emission.
Ford continues to be the driving force behind the rise in the zero-emission sales and comprised nearly one-third of all sales in Q1 2025. Over 80% of all the vehicles manufactured by Ford for the European market were zero-emission, and most of these were its E-Transit model. Sales of the Mercedes eSprinter have also been on the rise and reached 290 vehicles in Q1 2025, up from 19 vehicles sold in Q1 2024.
Sales of zero-emission light and medium trucks in the Netherlands rose rapidly in Q1 2025, with 510 zero-emission vehicles sold; that was 83% of all light and medium trucks sold and nearly three times higher than the total sold in all of 2024. The rise is likely driven by the introduction of zero-emission zones that have applied in 15 municipalities since the start of 2025. Sales in most other countries remained stagnant, except in Italy, where the share for zero-emission vehicles reached 17% in Q1 2025, up from 6% in Q1 2024.
