The scaling of electrification on trunk lines is beginning primarily on transport routes with stable cargo sources and concentrated capacity.
As electric heavy-duty trucks begin to account for half of domestic new vehicle sales, cross-regional long-haul trunk logistics remains a market yet to be developed.
Data shows that in September 2026, domestic sales of new energy heavy-duty trucks reached 33,100 units, a year-on-year increase of 37%. The penetration rate of new vehicles broke through 50% for the first time, reaching 50.28%.
Cumulative sales for the first three quarters totaled 226,400 units, up 64% year-on-year, with a cumulative penetration rate of 38.10%.
However, from a transportation scenario perspective, there remains a significant structural disparity in the electrification of heavy-duty trucks.
A report indicates that in 2025, short-to-medium distance transport accounted for 87.6% of the domestic new energy heavy-duty truck market, while long-distance transport represented only 0.9%, compared to a 0.2% share in 2024.
The 0.9% figure reflects the application scenario structure of new energy heavy-duty trucks, not the overall new energy penetration rate of the entire long-distance transport market.
Although the statistical calibers of these two datasets are not entirely identical, they jointly reveal the current market landscape of heavy-duty truck electrification: ports, mines, steel mills, and bulk material short-haul shuttles have completed electrification first, while cross-provincial trunk freight is still in its initial stage.
Nevertheless, entering the second half of 2026, substantial changes are emerging in the market.
From Huawei's megawatt ultra-fast charging completing verification for thousand-kilometer express delivery trunk transport, to Qiyuan Green Power opening an 800-kilometer cross-provincial coal transport battery-swapping corridor, to CATL launching the "Battery-Battery Range Extender" solution and STO Express expanding its electric heavy-duty truck operations, electric heavy-duty trucks are gradually moving away from fixed short-haul shuttle routes into more complex cross-regional transport markets.
Meanwhile, competition between charging and battery-swapping technical routes is also intensifying.
01 Trunk Line Ultra-Fast Charging Network Begins to Form, Thousand-Kilometer Transport Verified
In past years, the main factors restricting electric heavy-duty trucks from entering long-haul trunk lines were insufficient driving range, replenishment efficiency, and infrastructure coverage.
Now, 600–800kWh batteries, high-voltage platforms, and megawatt-level charging technologies have entered the heavy-duty truck market one after another, with vehicle manufacturers beginning to extend transport radii to 500 kilometers or even over 1,000 kilometers.
In March 2026, Huawei Digital Power, in collaboration with XCMG Motors and Hubei Shunshizhen Supply Chain, completed cross-provincial transport verification on SF Express's actual freight route from Huizhou to Wuhan, spanning 1,046 kilometers.
The vehicles used 3.5C fast-charging batteries, paired with Huawei's mobile megawatt ultra-fast charging solution, achieving 1.44MW charging power and 2,400A continuous output. It took as little as 18 minutes to charge the battery SOC from 10% to 90%.
The trip ultimately took approximately 13 hours and 20 minutes, below the task limit of 14 hours and 25 minutes. Huawei disclosed that the energy cost per trip saved approximately CNY 950 compared to fuel-powered transport.
This test was the first to verify the compatibility of megawatt-level replenishment with thousand-kilometer cross-provincial freight under actual express delivery time constraints.
Its limitations are equally obvious: the road test adopted a mobile replenishment solution, and commercial viability still needs further verification through fixed stations and sustained operations.
Subsequently, Huawei deployed six mobile megawatt ultra-fast charging points along the 1,116-kilometer out-of-Xinjiang coal transport line from Changji, Xinjiang to Jiuquan, Gansu, completing long-distance transport verification for multi-brand electric heavy-duty trucks.
Huawei previously disclosed that it had built more than 20 medium-to-long distance megawatt ultra-fast charging corridors with partners, including Qingdao to Linyi and Mianyang to Chengdu.
However, actual charging traffic volume, station utilization rates, and normalized operation scales for these corridors have not been uniformly disclosed.
Compared to road tests, recent progress in local highway charging network construction is more noteworthy.
By the end of August, all 88 initial demonstration stations for high-power charging of electric heavy-duty trucks in Shandong, a major freight province, were completed, including 20 at highway service areas and 68 on ordinary national and provincial roads.
Among them, a green replenishment corridor skeleton covering 7 cities with a total mileage of over 2,600 kilometers has formed along highways such as Beijing-Shanghai, Beijing-Taipei, Shenhai, and Qingyin, with some stations supporting megawatt-level charging.
On October 1, Fujian's 649-kilometer zero-carbon transport demonstration line on the Shenhai Expressway officially commenced operations, with 23 heavy-duty truck charging and swapping stations built along the route, keeping replenishment facility spacing within 100 kilometers.
Charging facilities have also begun disclosing actual operational data.
Since its launch in April, the Shanxi Transportation Holdings Tunliu Heavy-Duty Truck Charging Station has accumulated 9.46 million kWh in charging volume, served 46,700 heavy-duty truck visits, averaging about 270 visits per day.
The station has signed contracts with 13 fleets and 195 heavy-duty trucks, achieving a comprehensive utilization rate of 45%.
These projects indicate that heavy-duty truck replenishment facilities are shifting from single-point construction to networking along freight channels.
Highway groups, local investment companies, and energy enterprises are also taking on more infrastructure investment responsibilities.
Notably, the Tunliu station relies on stable demand generated by coal, steel, and sand/gravel transport. This suggests that for freight markets with relatively clear transport distances and routes, there may be opportunities to form commercial loops early without waiting for the completion of a nationwide charging network.
02 Battery Swapping Networks Accelerate Extension; CATL, Qiyuan, and Gotion Compete for Trunk Lines
Simultaneous with the expansion of ultra-fast charging networks, battery swapping enterprises have also begun extending into long-distance transport.
However, market data from 2026 reflects a noteworthy change: battery-swapping heavy-duty trucks have not grown in sync with the overall new energy heavy-duty truck market.
Data shows that in September, sales of battery-swapping heavy-duty trucks were 6,581 units, a year-on-year decrease of 14%, accounting for 20.09% of pure electric heavy-duty truck sales.
For the first three quarters, the cumulative share of battery-swapping heavy-duty trucks was 22.92%, lower than the full-year figure of 30.39% in 2025.
This statistic includes vehicles using battery leasing but potentially utilizing charging for replenishment. Even so, the trend of declining market share for battery-swapping models is clear.
Currently, the battery-swapping market still relies mainly on fixed high-frequency scenarios such as steel mill transfers, port collection and distribution, and mine sand/stone transport.
Insufficient density of battery-swapping stations along highways, compatibility issues between different brands, and investments in station and battery assets still limit their expansion into open trunk lines.
Leading operators have started adjusting their layouts.
In September, Qiyuan Green Power opened an 800-kilometer cross-provincial coal transport corridor from Shenmu, Shaanxi to Huanghua Port, Hebei.
With the addition of eight newly commissioned battery-swapping stations along the Cangyu Expressway, the entire route now features a cumulative layout of 24 charging and swapping stations, covering Shaanxi, Shanxi, and Hebei provinces.
According to calculations by Qiyuan Green Power, relying on 3–5 minute battery swaps and the station network along the route, the round-trip transport cycle can be shortened from two days to one and a half days. Under full-load operating conditions, a single vehicle could potentially add about five transport tasks per month.
As of September, Qiyuan Green Power disclosed that it operates over 1,800 charging and swapping stations nationwide, forming more than 100 new energy heavy-duty truck operation trunk lines.
The 2,243-kilometer heavy-duty truck charging and swapping corridor spanning seven provincial administrative regions, led by Qiyuan, also passed the acceptance inspection for the "Transportation Power" pilot task in September.
Qiyuan currently adopts a diversified replenishment approach of "Ultra-Fast Charging + Quick Swap + Power Delivery," covering both fixed short-haul shuttles and cross-regional transport.
The figure of over 1,800 represents the combined number of charging and swapping stations, which cannot be equated with the number of battery-swapping stations on national highways.
Meanwhile, CATL is accelerating the integration of heavy-duty truck battery-swapping resources.
In August, CATL acquired a 24.8726% stake in Qiyuan Green Power held by China Power for approximately CNY 2.556 billion.
Upon completion of the transaction, its shareholding will increase to 30.3159%, making CATL the largest shareholder of Qiyuan Green Power.
On October 20, CATL further released the Tianxing II "Battery-Battery Range Extender" heavy-duty truck battery solution, splitting the original bottom-mounted battery-swapping system into two sets of batteries.
Specifically, the 432kWh or 513kWh main drive battery uses a battery-swapping leasing model, while an additional 77kWh onboard range-extending battery is self-owned by the vehicle owner.
The two battery sets can automatically switch when low on power. According to CATL's introduction, traditional battery-swapping heavy-duty trucks typically need to reserve about 30% of the main drive battery's charge to ensure return-to-station replenishment;
With the addition of the onboard battery, the main drive battery can be used down to below 5%, further increasing the actual usable capacity of the leased battery.
This solution simultaneously involves purchase costs, range, and residual value management. Users do not need to buy out large-capacity main drive batteries, and upon selling the vehicle, they retain their own battery assets, reducing the uncertainty in secondary transactions associated with traditional vehicle-battery separation models.
CATL disclosed that the first batch of "Battery-Battery Range Extender" solutions has secured agreements for 13,000 heavy-duty trucks, signing cooperation agreements with logistics companies such as China Post, SF Express, and STO Express.
Currently, the cumulative operating mileage of the Qiji battery-swapping network has exceeded 5 million kilometers, with plans to build 900 battery-swapping stations by the end of 2026 and 2,000 stations by 2027.
Beyond CATL, Gotion High-Tech is also exploring ways to reduce battery-swapping network construction costs.
At the IAA Commercial Vehicles show in Hanover in September, Gotion High-Tech's "Dianlala" mobile storage-charging-swapping solution appeared alongside United Heavy Trucks under Chery Commercial Vehicles, completing the delivery of the first customer vehicle for battery-swapping heavy-duty trucks on the Europe-Africa transport corridor.
This solution adopts modular batteries and mobile replenishment equipment, supporting a 430kWh+430kWh power combination and 5-minute battery swap, reducing reliance on large fixed battery-swapping stations.
Unlike CATL's push for standardized bottom-mounted battery-swapping networks, Gotion aims to solve replenishment challenges for certain cross-border transports and remote routes through movable, relocatable facilities.
Currently, this model is still in the early stages of delivery and network construction.
03 EVE Energy Bets on Charging-Swapping Compatibility; Automakers Shift Focus to Vehicle Operational Economics
For power battery manufacturers, the expansion of trunk logistics is also changing the direction of product competition for heavy-duty truck batteries.
On one hand, battery capacities continue to increase, with 800kWh and even 1,000kWh class heavy-duty truck products appearing one after another;
On the other hand, issues regarding weight, purchase cost, and charging time brought about by large capacities have begun to attract attention from automakers and logistics companies.
Currently, battery companies have not formed completely consistent choices regarding replenishment routes.
CATL is advancing both ultra-fast charging batteries and battery-swapping networks simultaneously. Its Tianxing II bottom-mounted long-range version, released in October, has a maximum capacity of 760kWh, adopts an 800V architecture, claims 300km of range replenishment in 20 minutes, and offers a warranty of 1.5 million kilometers.
As the second-largest supplier with approximately 10% share of domestic electric heavy-duty truck battery installations in 2025, EVE Energy presents a more open charging-swapping compatible strategy.
EVE Energy's Open Source Battery LF668-448kWh adopts a CTB (Cell-to-Pack) highly integrated solution, weighing approximately 570kg less than traditional 423kWh battery systems, while supporting both charging and battery-swapping methods, as well as 5-minute quick installation.
In March this year, EVE Energy further signed a deep strategic cooperation agreement with XCMG Power, clarifying enhanced cooperation on projects such as the 448kWh heavy-duty truck, extending from simple cell supply to joint development of battery systems.
In its latest heavy-duty truck product solutions, EVE Energy also emphasizes MW-level constant-current ultra-fast charging capability, officially disclosing that the 10%–80% SOC replenishment time can reach 18 minutes.
During the Hannover Motor Show in September, EVE Energy signed strategic cooperation agreements with partners including BMZ and Australian heavy-duty truck electrification and battery-swapping enterprise Janus Electric, with a cumulative agreement scale exceeding 30GWh.
Another direction for EVE Energy is full lifecycle battery management via AI Battery.
Jiang Jibing, President of EVE Energy's commercial vehicle battery product line, stated in September that batteries need to shift from being mere energy carriers to intelligent systems capable of managing energy consumption, health status, and residual value, thereby enhancing the certainty of commercial vehicle operational returns.
These layouts reflect a shift in the competitive focus of battery manufacturers:
For heavy-duty truck fleets, battery capacity and replenishment speed remain important, but vehicle curb weight, cycle life, actual energy consumption, warranty, and residual value also influence long-term procurement decisions.
Automakers have also begun deeply participating in this process. OEMs such as XCMG, Sany, FAW Jiefang, Sinotruk, and Geely Remote are, on one hand, launching models with different capacities, C-rates, and battery placement forms, and on the other hand, cooperating with battery suppliers and replenishment operators to adapt to specific transport routes.
04 "New Catfish" for Trunk Line Electrification: Large Logistics Enterprises Enter the Market
While charging and battery-swapping technologies continue to evolve, there is another more significant change in trunk line electrification:
Large express delivery and logistics enterprises are shifting from trial vehicles to systematic procurement and operations.
On October 25, STO Express disclosed in an investor relations activity that the company currently operates over 200 new energy electric heavy-duty trucks, while also possessing 140 gas-powered tractors.
Compared to its fleet of 8,823 self-owned trunk transport vehicles at the end of 2025, new energy heavy-duty trucks still account for a small proportion.
STO Express previously disclosed partial economic calculations for trunk line electric heavy-duty trucks in its convertible bond inquiry response:
Under typical operating conditions, including costs such as vehicle depreciation, maintenance, and insurance, electric heavy-duty trucks save approximately CNY 0.3–0.5 per kilometer compared to diesel vehicles.
For express delivery companies with numerous fixed sorting centers, stable routes, and high-frequency transport demands, this cost gap is expected to gradually release as capacity scales up.
In September, digital freight platform Fuyou Truck partnered with CATL's Qiji battery-swapping network, planning to connect over 100 bottom-mounted battery-swapping heavy-duty trucks to core eastern coastal express delivery trunk lines in the first batch.
Meanwhile, the thousand-kilometer ultra-fast charging verification conducted by Huawei with SF Express carriers and XCMG demonstrated another possibility:
Using high-rate batteries and high-power charging equipment on defined freight routes, incorporating replenishment time into driver rest windows.
From this perspective, the scaling of trunk line electrification is likely to occur first on transport routes with stable cargo sources and concentrated capacity.
Large logistics providers offer real capacity demand and operational data; commercial vehicle OEMs develop models based on transport radius, load, and timeliness requirements; battery providers supply corresponding battery systems; and energy operators build replenishment facilities around freight nodes.
This demand-driven model can reduce the investment risk of blindly laying out charging and battery-swapping networks in the early stages.
Policies are also adjusting toward this direction.
In May 2026, the Ministry of Transport and 10 other departments issued the "Implementation Plan for Promoting the Large-Scale Application of New Energy Heavy-Duty Trucks," proposing the construction of 30,000 kilometers of zero-carbon highway transport corridors by 2030, supporting the building of approximately 3,000 heavy-duty truck charging and swapping stations, and requiring that new energy heavy-duty truck freight volume on highways reach 18%.
Compared to new vehicle sales penetration rates, the proportion of new energy heavy-duty truck freight volume on highways better reflects the actual degree of electrification in the trunk market.
From short-haul shuttles to trunk lines, electric heavy-duty trucks require not just a larger battery, but also a transport and replenishment network capable of sustained operation.
Only when more and more large logistics enterprises begin batch purchasing, organizing electric capacity, and supporting investment in沿线 replenishment facilities through actual freight revenue, will the new energy penetration rate of trunk logistics possibly see a clearer turning point.