Robin Zeng, the billionaire head of battery giant CATL, expects half of all new trucks sold in China will be electric-powered by 2028, a forecast that heralds huge disruption for the global market in heavy goods vehicles. In an interview with the Financial Times to mark CATL’s $4.6bn listing in Hong Kong, the largest in the world this year, Zeng said trucks powered by his batteries could cut cost per tonne-kilometre by 35 per cent compared with those fuelled by petrol.
Zeng’s claims suggest traditional truckmakers such as Sweden’s Volvo and Germany’s MAN and Daimler could soon encounter a wave of intense Chinese competition of the sort that has swept through the market for passenger cars.
Recent Comments