Electric delivery trucks can cost more to buy and require depot charging, but they can use less energy directly. Whether one costs less to operate depends on the truck, route, local energy prices, charging schedule, payload, and infrastructure—not on a universal payback figure. For a fleet, the practical test is whether an electric truck can complete its loaded duty cycle and whether its total cost per route or delivery compares favorably after charging time and site costs are included.
What the cost comparison really measures
Purchase price and total cost of ownership (TCO) answer different questions. The International Energy Agency (IEA) reports that battery-electric heavy-duty trucks cost two to three times as much to buy as diesel trucks in 2024. That comparison, published in the IEA’s 2025 analysis, concerns heavy-duty trucks in China, the EU, and the United States; it is not a quote for every delivery-truck class or market.
The same IEA analysis finds lower direct energy costs for electric trucks in its scenarios, but those savings do not by themselves establish lower lifetime cost. An electric fleet may need chargers, site electrical upgrades, and time in which vehicles are unavailable for deliveries. Electricity tariffs, diesel prices, financing, labor, maintenance, taxes, incentives, and resale assumptions also vary by place and operation.
| Cost or operating factor | Battery-electric truck | Diesel truck |
|---|---|---|
| Vehicle purchase | Higher purchase price in the IEA’s 2024 heavy-duty comparison; the exact premium depends on class, model, and market. | Lower purchase price in that comparison; a current price for a matched delivery-truck pair is not established. |
| Energy | Electricity use and cost depend on the truck, route, charging losses, tariff, and charging schedule. The IEA found lower direct energy costs in its heavy-duty scenarios. | Fuel cost depends on the truck’s consumption, route, and local diesel price. |
| Infrastructure | May require depot chargers, electrical work, and potentially en-route charging. Cost depends on site capacity and charger use. | Uses existing refueling arrangements where available; site or fueling costs still depend on the fleet’s operation. |
| Time and productivity | Charging dwell, scheduling, and any payload effect can affect vehicle availability and work completed. | Refueling and downtime also affect availability; the comparison should use the fleet’s actual schedule and service needs. |
| Matched model prices, loaded range, and refueling or charging times | Not established for a current, named delivery-truck model and market. | Not established for a current, matched diesel model and market. |
The National Laboratory of the Rockies’ T3CO methodology is useful because it includes more than vehicle purchase, maintenance, fuel or charging, and driving costs. It also accounts for charging or fueling dwell, cargo-capacity effects associated with powertrain mass, and vehicle downtime. A fleet should add its own financing, insurance, taxes, incentives, labor, and residual-value assumptions to the comparison.
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Use a route-level measure, not just cost per mile
Cost per mile can conceal lost productivity if one vehicle completes fewer routes or deliveries in a shift. For operations where availability differs, compare cost per route or delivery as well, using the same service requirement and delivery volume for both options.
How to decide whether electric range fits the work
There is no useful single range figure for all delivery trucks. The relevant question is whether the truck can finish its actual route at loaded weight with the fleet’s practical reserve, under its operating conditions. Battery size, range, payload, and charging requirements constrain one another, particularly for heavier or longer-distance work.
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Assess the route data the fleet already uses: daily distance, payload, stops, weather, elevation if relevant, time away from the depot, and the reserve policy. A predictable route that returns to a depot each day presents a different charging problem from multi-shift work, irregular dispatch, or a long regional route with limited charging opportunities. Do not treat a manufacturer’s stated maximum range as a guarantee for a loaded route.
Questions to answer for each route
- Can the truck complete the full route at the expected payload while preserving the fleet’s reserve?
- Does the vehicle return to a place where it can charge, and for how long?
- Would charging between shifts or during a planned stop fit the schedule, or would it displace delivery work?
- Would the electric truck’s payload capacity or charging plan require a different number of trips or vehicles?
- Is there a fallback plan for missed charging, charger faults, or an unexpectedly long dispatch?
What charging requires from the depot and schedule
Charging feasibility depends on the vehicle’s battery and charging capability, charger power, available charging window, site electrical capacity, and route plan. A stated charging time is meaningful only when those details—and the vehicle class—are known. Refueling and charging times should be compared in the context of the whole shift, including when vehicles are parked and whether that time is already productive or idle.
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The IEA describes a staged approach: fleets can begin with depot charging and add en-route high-power charging as more journeys require it. This can avoid building a larger network before operations need it, but the depot still has to support the required charging schedule. Charger utilization matters: in the IEA’s modeled comparison, increasing utilization from 5% to 30% reduced levelized infrastructure cost per kWh by about 80%. That is a scenario result illustrating the importance of use, not a guaranteed saving for a particular fleet.
Build the charging plan around actual dwell
- Map vehicle dwell: Record when each truck is parked, where it is parked, and how long it remains there between routes or shifts.
- Match charging to the duty cycle: Determine which vehicles must charge overnight, between shifts, during a route, or through a combination of these windows.
- Check site capacity and costs: Get site-specific estimates for chargers, electrical upgrades, tariffs, and any demand or time-of-use charges.
- Model charger use: Estimate the number of trucks served and how often chargers will be occupied; low utilization can raise infrastructure cost per unit of delivered electricity.
- Plan for expansion and disruption: Consider whether the depot can scale modularly and what happens if a charger or vehicle is unavailable.
What published fleet examples do—and do not—show
A 2021 Port Houston drayage feasibility report by the Texas A&M Transportation Institute and the University of California, Riverside, hosted by the U.S. Department of Transportation, used data from 40 trucks collected in 2017–2018. Under the report’s then-current truck and charger assumptions, it found that up to 42% of fleet mileage could potentially be electric with depot-only charging. It also modeled lower electric-truck TCO in a case assuming a 12-year vehicle life and 27,000 miles per year. This is a historical port-drayage analysis, not a forecast for a current delivery fleet.
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India-focused studies by NITI Aayog show why geography and use case matter. An ICF analysis reproduced by NITI Aayog in 2024 illustrates an India heavy-duty scenario with an 800 kWh battery and a charging time of 4–7 hours. Those figures describe that illustrative scenario, not a general specification for delivery trucks. Modelled parity dates or payback outcomes from such studies should be read with their stated route, vehicle, energy, and cost assumptions.
Independent reader supportYour contribution helps us test, update, and keep practical guides available for everyone.A practical fleet comparison before procurement
Compare a specific electric and diesel vehicle class on the same work, rather than comparing a headline range or price in isolation. Set out the assumptions so another fleet manager could see what would change the result.
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- Define the job: Specify region, vehicle class, route, loaded payload, daily and annual mileage, shifts, and vehicle life.
- Use local, dated costs: Obtain current vehicle and charger quotations, electricity tariffs, diesel prices, and site electrical-work estimates for the fleet’s location.
- Model availability: Include charging or fueling dwell, maintenance, service support, downtime, and any impact on trips or deliveries completed.
- Include ownership costs: Account for financing, labor, insurance, taxes, incentives, and residual-value assumptions that apply to the fleet.
- Compare useful outputs: Calculate total cost of ownership per mile and, where productivity differs, per route or delivery.
- Test sensitivities: Check how the result changes with energy prices, annual use, charger utilization, vehicle life, and route changes.
The IEA estimates that heavy-duty battery-electric trucks are about 55% more energy efficient than diesel trucks of the same size under its analysis framing. That efficiency comparison is not a fleet-bill saving: local electricity and diesel prices, charging infrastructure, and how the vehicle is used determine the cost outcome.
When each option is more likely to fit
Electric is a stronger candidate when
- Routes are predictable and return to a depot with enough dwell time for the planned charging schedule.
- The truck can meet loaded-route range and payload requirements without reducing service or requiring additional vehicles.
- Local energy costs, charger utilization, and applicable incentives support the fleet’s modeled TCO.
- The site can provide the required electrical capacity and the fleet can manage charging and vehicle availability.
Diesel may remain the more practical choice when
- Routes are long, irregular, multi-shift, or difficult to serve with available charging windows.
- Charging infrastructure or site electrical upgrades would be costly or operationally disruptive.
- Payload, range, service coverage, or downtime requirements are not met by an available electric model.
- Local purchase and operating assumptions do not yield an acceptable TCO for the electric alternative.
Neither list replaces a route-specific cost model. The IEA notes that vehicle TCO depends on use and on capital, energy, and labor costs, which vary by region.
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