Are electric HGVs now running cheaper than diesel?

On 14 October Hitachi ZeroCarbon and GRIDSERVE published an updated report on the Electric Freightway project and a total cost of ownership (TCO) calculator for electric HGVs which shows that electric HGVs can deliver a lower TCO than their diesel counterparts.

Hitachi ZeroCarbon who developed the TCO calculator have produced analysis using the calculator which shows that under certain conditions, electric HGVs can achieve cost parity with their diesel equivalents after just five years of operation. For embedded emissions, these are usually offset within the first year of operating an electric HGV.

The TCO calculator aims to help businesses understand how many years it would take to get price parity between a new electric HGV and the diesel equivalent. The calculator looks at a bunch of different factors including the upfront cost of both vehicles, whether operators will be able to charge at their depots or will rely on public charging, as well as the mileage required.

Operators can insert their own data into the TCO and instantly receive an estimate of the TCO alongside the total CO2 from their fleet.

The project will continue into 2026 and is looking to understand attitudes towards electric HGV adoption across the wider industry.

The Electric Freightway project is funded by the Department for Transport and Innovate UK as part of the UK’s Zero Emission HGV and Infrastructure Demonstrator (ZEHID) programme and brings together over 30 consortium partners. The aim of the ZEHID programme is to accelerate the adoption of zero-emission HGVs on UK roads.

Logistics UK’s Senior Policy Manager Stephanie Haszczyn said: “TCO calculators like the one launched recently by the Electric Freightway project are useful tools for operators who want to understand when an electric HGV might hit price parity with the diesel equivalent.

“The project’s research is suggesting the TCO could line up in five years, depending on the conditions which is positive news for operators who want to transition.

“Logistics UK will continue to call on government for more financial support, alongside faster rollout of key charging infrastructure across the whole of the UK to ensure operators have the right mechanisms to support them when they transition.”