China's intelligent electric heavy-duty truck maker SuperPanther showcases its all-electric eTopas 600 truck model at 2026 IAA Transportation in Hannover, Germany, on September 16, 2026. Photo: courtesy of SuperPanther

At Xinsha Port in Dongguan, South China's Guangdong Province, rows of new-energy heavy-duty trucks are lining up and rolling onto ro-ro ships bound for overseas markets. Behind the bustling port is robust demand from abroad.

At a commercial vehicle plant in Changsha, Central China's Hunan Province, multiple production lines are running at full capacity. Zhou Liang, a representative at SANY Truck, the heavy-duty vehicle division of global manufacturing giant SANY Group, told the Global Times that overseas orders rose 80 percent year-on-year in the first six months of this year. 

From Asia-Pacific, South America and Africa to Europe and Oceania, China's new-energy heavy-duty truck makers are expanding their overseas footprint rapidly, with Europe emerging as a key battleground in the global efforts to reduce tail-pipe emissions.

In Europe - described by industry insiders as a market with the world's strictest carbon emission regulations and highest truck use standards - Chinese companies are entering in a new way: through deep localization efforts rather than exports.

A notable example is Xiamen-based intelligent electric heavy-duty truck maker SuperPanther, which began mass production of its all-electric eTopas 600 at a local automotive plant in Austria in July. Designed for the European market, the model has now been delivered to customers including logistics giant DHL and Germany's GRESS Group.

Instead of exporting finished whole vehicles, SuperPanther adopted the SKD (semi-knocked-down) model, combining its research and development (R&D) and technological capabilities developed in Xiamen, East China's Fujian Province, with local European manufacturing, supply chains and service systems.

"For SuperPanther, going global is not just about selling products overseas, but building R&D, manufacturing, service and commercial operations capabilities there," Zhou Xue, the company's chief financial officer, told the Global Times.

Growing competitiveness 

According to Chinese experts, China's competitiveness in new-energy heavy trucks lies in its coordination across the full industrial chain. 

Battery packs, electric drivetrains, electronic control systems, intelligent driving, charging and swapping equipment, vehicle manufacturing and operational services are increasingly integrated now, giving Chinese companies an estimated 40 percent cost advantage.

A McKinsey report released in September 2026 noted that Chinese truck makers are entering the European market with clear cost and R&D efficiency advantages, with some models enjoying a structural cost advantage of 30-40 percent and development cycles of just 22-28 months - about half those of traditional European manufacturers.

Analysts said that China's overseas expansion of new-energy trucks is no longer just about competition between individual vehicles, but a comprehensive contest in technology iteration speed, manufacturing efficiency, and supply chain completeness.

At the 2026 IAA Transportation exhibition in Hannover, Germany, in September, more than 460 Chinese companies participated, setting a record Chinese turnout and the largest number of exhibitors from any country.

Chinese exhibitors displayed new-energy heavy trucks, battery systems, electric drivetrains, intelligent driving technologies and charging solutions, covering multiple segments of the commercial vehicle industry chain.

Sinotruk unveiled its new-generation Sitrak 4x2 pure electric tractor. It is equipped with a 600-kilowatt-hour battery, offering a range of over 500 kilometers on a single charge. It supports megawatt-level charging, taking just 23 minutes to charge from 20 to 80 percent, with a curb weight of only 10.1 tons and a maximum payload of 44 tons.

BYD launched the ETT 44 model, its first heavy-duty electric truck for the European market. 

GAC Commercial Vehicle, together with Pony.ai and Aulton New Energy, unveiled the T9 ROBOTRUCK L4 autonomous heavy truck model and a new-generation battery-swapping heavy truck model. SANY Truck provided a dedicated 2-km test route for international customers at the exhibition.

Beyond the exhibition, export data shows that China's heavy-duty truck exports reached 41,000 units in September, up 29.4 percent year-on-year, maintaining high growth for consecutive months.

Aiding de-carbonization

China's new-energy heavy trucks are playing a growing role in aiding global energy transformation. 

On June 23, SANY Truck exported 883 new-energy heavy trucks through Guangzhou Port in a single shipment, surpassing the country's total export volume of 877 units in 2025. According to the company, the batch was produced in four days, with a peak output of 240 vehicles per day. The factory's efficiency is supported by more than 200 industrial robots and over 700 automated guided vehicles.

In Indonesia, a large coal mine purchased more than 150 electric dump trucks from Xuzhou Construction Machinery Group and later placed an additional order for 100 units. In Zambia, a copper mine bought Chinese new-energy heavy trucks along with supporting photovoltaic and energy storage systems.

Industry observers say electric heavy trucks are increasingly attractive to overseas buyers because they could bring both economic and environmental values.

Chinese companies are betting on battery swapping to speed electrification of heavy trucks. CATL has launched Tectrans II truck batteries and the Qiji battery-swapping system. Its battery swap system can replace a chassis-mounted battery in five minutes, which is compatible with 95 percent of mainstream heavy truck models. 

In September, CATL signed a preliminary agreement with DHL Group to develop "green freight corridors" in Europe. 

This shows that Chinese companies are not merely "exporting vehicles" overseas; they are also exporting batteries, battery-swapping, charging, and intelligent operational systems, Hu Qimu, a professor at the Maritime Silk Road Institute of Huaqiao University, told the Global Times.

Data from the German Association of the Automotive Industry shows that about 30 percent of the emissions from road transport in Europe come from heavy freight transportation. In an interview with Xinhua, the association's president Hildegard Muller said that Chinese companies' ideas are offering inspiration to the German industry. "Competition and cooperation are now happening simultaneously," Muller said.

In May this year, China released a new plan to accelerate large-scale deployment of new-energy heavy-duty trucks. The plan sets a target of a 40 percent penetration rate for new-energy heavy-duty trucks running on roads, bringing the total fleet to more than 1.6 million units by 2030.