Europe’s shift toward electric heavy-duty vehicles is gaining traction, but the road to large-scale adoption still depends heavily on faster policy alignment and infrastructure rollout.
That is the key takeaway from a new white paper by Milence, which examines how ready European markets are for the transition to zero-emission road freight.
Titled Bridging the Gap: Market Readiness and Barriers in Europe’s Transition to Electric Heavy-Duty Transport, the report analyzes 14 European countries and highlights a growing divide between early leaders and slower-moving markets.
Europe’s electric truck market is moving, but not fast enough
The report shows that electric trucks are already proving themselves in real-world operations. Early adopters have demonstrated that battery-electric heavy-duty vehicles can deliver reliable performance and increasingly competitive operating costs across a wider range of logistics use cases.
Still, the market has not yet reached the tipping point needed for rapid, self-sustaining growth.
Instead of a virtuous cycle where vehicle adoption drives charging expansion and lower costs, Europe’s eHDV rollout remains uneven. Countries such as Switzerland, Denmark and the Netherlands have already moved beyond pilot projects, while many other markets remain in the early stages.
Policy is the biggest factor shaping adoption
According to Milence, the biggest barrier to faster electric truck deployment is not technology — it is policy consistency.
The white paper says the strongest-performing markets combine multiple supportive measures rather than relying on a single incentive. The most effective factors include competitive electricity pricing, lower taxes and grid charges, CO₂-based road tolling, long-term purchase subsidies, and easier access to financing.
Truck-friendly public charging infrastructure is another critical piece. Without dependable charging along key freight routes, fleet operators face significant uncertainty when planning electrification.
Milence also points to renewable energy certificate systems under the EU’s Renewable Energy Directive (RED III) as a potentially valuable tool to improve the business case for electric trucks. However, the company notes that implementation remains inconsistent across member states.
Charging network growth is improving freight confidence
Public charging for electric trucks is expanding across Europe, with nearly 1,800 truck-suitable charging points now available along major freight corridors.
Milence says it currently operates 33 charging hubs with 221 charging points across eight European countries. That network is helping lay the groundwork for long-haul electric transport, though the company says deployment still needs to accelerate.
More targeted public funding and faster permitting processes will be essential to support broader infrastructure expansion.
Electric truck ownership costs are becoming more competitive
The report also finds that the total cost of ownership for electric trucks is improving in key European markets.
In the Netherlands, electric heavy-duty vehicles already deliver cost advantages in several real-world scenarios. In Germany, full toll exemptions are helping create strong and predictable savings for operators. Meanwhile, Sweden benefits from low electricity prices, although more incentives are still needed for long-haul freight.
Looking ahead, the EU’s ETS II carbon pricing framework is expected to further improve the economics of electric trucks by making diesel and other fossil fuels more expensive.
Europe must scale what already works
Milence’s core message is clear: Europe does not face a technology gap in freight electrification — it faces a policy gap.
The leading markets have already shown that electric road freight can work commercially when the right conditions are in place. But without broader adoption of proven policy tools, Europe risks creating a fragmented, multi-speed transition that could disrupt cross-border logistics and slow decarbonization efforts.
As Anja van Niersen put it, electric road freight is not just central to cutting transport emissions — it is also increasingly important for Europe’s energy resilience and long-term competitiveness.
The technology is ready, the charging network is expanding, and the business case is improving. What Europe needs next is faster, more consistent policy action to turn early momentum into mass-market scale.
