In 1985, the Kenworth T600 transformed trucking with a radically more aerodynamic design that improved fuel efficiency by roughly 20%. Forty years later, the industry is entering a far bigger transformation: the shift to zero-emission trucking.
Battery-electric trucks are working their way out of ports and cities into regional freight. Hydrogen is making a credible case for long-haul transport. And the numbers behind the transition explain why it has moved from conversation to capital allocation: heavy-duty trucks make up only around 7% of vehicles on U.S. roads but account for nearly 25% of transportation greenhouse gas emissions. The market is still early, but momentum is building faster than many expected.
Zero-emission truck adoption is accelerating
According to the International Council on Clean Transportation, while the heavy-duty vehicle market shrunk overall compared with 2024, zero-emission registrations of medium-duty trucks saw major growth, with a 61.7% increase in registrations. California recorded the highest number of new zero-emission truck registrations in 2025 with 875 registrations, and registrations of zero-emission medium-duty trucks overtook buses for the first time in Q4 2025. The 11 states adopting California’s Advanced Clean Trucks regulation also accounted for 57.5% of all U.S. zero-emission medium- and heavy-duty vehicle registrations in 2025.
Source: The International Council on Clean Transportation
Today, more than 59,000 zero-emission trucks are already operating across the U.S.
Several trends are expected to further accelerate adoption:
- State-level clean transportation mandates
- Expanding charging and hydrogen infrastructure
- Corporate sustainability commitments
- Improving vehicle performance and range
- Falling battery and operating costs
- New vehicle introductions such as the Tesla Semi
California remains the leading market, while Washington, Oregon, Texas, and parts of the Pacific Northwest are becoming important deployment corridors for both electric and hydrogen freight.
Battery-electric trucks are expanding beyond urban delivery
Battery-electric heavy-duty trucks are improving rapidly in range, charging speed and payload capability. What began primarily as urban delivery and port drayage applications is now expanding into regional and even long-haul freight.
Freightliner eCascadia
Currently one of the leading heavy-duty electric trucks in North America:
- Up to 230-mile range depending on configuration
- Built for drayage, local and regional haul
- Charging to 80% in approximately 2.5–3 hours
- Daimler currently holds over 40% of the U.S. heavy-duty zero-emission truck market
Tesla Semi
Tesla officially began high-volume production of the Semi in April 2026 at its Gigafactory Nevada facility.
Key specs include:
- Up to 500-mile range
- Approximately 1.7 kWh per mile efficiency
- Ability to recover up to 60% charge in 30 minutes
Volvo FH Aero Electric
Volvo recently launched next-generation electric heavy-duty trucks capable of:
- Up to 700 km range
- 20–80% charging in approximately 65 minutes
- Support for heavier regional and long-haul operations
Market share by segment
Source: https://theicct.org/publication/r2z-zero-emission-bus-and-truck-market-us-2025/
The market is clearly moving beyond short urban routes into broader commercial applications.
Hydrogen trucks are emerging for long-haul freight
While battery-electric trucks are scaling quickly in urban and regional applications, hydrogen fuel-cell trucks are emerging as a strong candidate for long-haul and heavy-load transport.
Across the U.S., significant hydrogen freight activity is developing in California, Texas and the Pacific Northwest, extending into Canada. Interest is being driven by energy security, corporate sustainability goals and the need to reduce local air pollution.
Hydrogen is increasingly viewed by OEMs and engine manufacturers as a viable decarbonisation pathway because it offers:
- Faster refuelling
- Longer range
- Higher payload capability
- Diesel-like operational flexibility
This makes hydrogen particularly attractive for long-distance freight, construction, heavy-duty logistics and high-utilisation fleets.
The market is still early and most hydrogen trucking activity today consists of pilot programmes and regional deployment corridors designed to validate both the vehicles and fuelling infrastructure.
Leading hydrogen truck programmes
Nikola Corporation
Nikola currently leads U.S. hydrogen Class 8 deployments, with hundreds of trucks operating in pilot and commercial programmes.
Toyota hydrogen freight initiative
Announced at ACT Expo, Toyota recently unveiled one of the largest hydrogen truck deployments in the U.S. to date. The initiative will deploy 40 hydrogen fuel-cell Class 8 trucks across Southern California logistics operations. The trucks are designed to match diesel performance with 15 to 20 minute refuelling, up to 500-mile range, and zero tailpipe emissions beyond water vapour. The bundled commercial model also includes fleet management software, maintenance and hydrogen fuelling infrastructure.
Hyundai XCIENT Fuel Cell
Already deployed in California and Georgia logistics corridors for regional freight operations.
Freightliner GenH2
Daimler is targeting future hydrogen truck ranges of up to 750 miles.
Hydrogen infrastructure remains the largest bottleneck. However, major investments are underway across California, Texas, Europe and Asia to build hydrogen freight corridors.
Drayage trucks may become the first large-scale success story
One of the most important zero-emission trucking segments today is drayage. Drayage trucks move containers between ports, warehouses, rail yards and nearby distribution centres, typically over short, predictable routes, which makes them ideal for electrification.
Ports such as Los Angeles and Long Beach are rapidly becoming testing grounds for zero-emission freight. Companies including Maersk, DHL, PepsiCo and IKEA are actively piloting zero-emission freight operations.
Drayage offers several advantages for electrification, including predictable daily routes, centralised charging opportunities, lower daily mileage, significant idle reduction benefits and improved air quality around ports and urban communities. Many drivers also report that electric drayage trucks are quieter and smoother to operate.
The biggest challenges: infrastructure, capital and asset management
Despite the momentum, large-scale adoption still faces major challenges:
- Charging infrastructure deployment
- Hydrogen availability and pricing
- Vehicle acquisition costs
- Financing structures
- Residual value uncertainty
- Real-time asset performance tracking
Medium- and heavy-duty trucks are expensive, high-utilisation assets. Operators increasingly need:
- Flexible financing
- Usage-based structures
- Better lifecycle visibility
- Integrated fleet data
- Emissions reporting
- Portfolio management tools
The industry is shifting from simply buying trucks to managing transportation assets as connected infrastructure.
Where Zeti fits in
At Zeti, we help operators, lenders, OEMs and infrastructure partners finance and manage zero-emission truck deployments.
Financing and structuring
We support flexible lease structures, usage-based financing, pay-per-mile models, TRAC leases, Fair Market Value leases, and financing for specialty and upfitted trucks.
Supporting zero-emission deployment
We work alongside fleet operators, port authorities, OEMs, regional incentive programmes and clean transportation initiatives such as CALSTART.
ZetiOS: connecting asset data with finance software
Through ZetiOS, operators and lenders gain real-time asset visibility, portfolio management tools, emissions and sustainability tracking, utilisation monitoring, billing and collections support, and residual value visibility.
Zeti and hydrogen mobility
Zeti is also actively involved in hydrogen transportation initiatives, including hydrogen Truck-as-a-Service partnerships, real-time hydrogen asset monitoring, pay-per-mile financing structures, hydrogen infrastructure partnerships, and participation in hydrogen deployment initiatives.
Zeti’s hydrogen work focuses on reducing financing risk through real-time asset intelligence, helping hydrogen fleets become commercially scalable.
The road ahead
The question in trucking is no longer whether zero-emission vehicles will scale, but how fast. Battery-electric has found its footing in ports and cities, while hydrogen is being taken seriously for long-haul transport. Across the industry, investment is real and accelerating.
Getting there, though, means more than replacing diesel engines. It means building the infrastructure, data systems and financing structures around them, and finding ways to monitor how these assets actually hold up in the field. That work is harder than the powertrain swap, and it is already underway.