Sau khi tăng giá dầu diesel, đội xe Nam Á bắt đầu thay đổi: Đơn đặt hàng xe tải điện hạng nặng của Trung Quốc đã xuất hiện như thế nào

At the end of February 2026, the Middle East conflict escalated. During that time, the market was focused on oil prices, gold, and the stock market. Few people would have thought that within a few months, a batch of new orders would fall into the hands of Chinese electric heavy-duty truck companies.

In the four months following the conflict, China exported 16,823 heavy-duty electric trucks, more than doubling the figure for the same period last year. South Asia and Southeast Asia together accounted for half of them.

Many people believe Chinese companies simply happened to ride the wave of rising oil prices. I actually believe war only makes a previously unclear account suddenly clear.

After the Strait of Hormuz was affected, international diesel prices quickly rose. Diesel prices in Sri Lanka rose by 48%, while in the Philippines they rose by 57%. During the same period, diesel prices in China increased by approximately 15%.

When they see the rise in oil prices, ordinary people may only feel that filling a full tank of fuel costs a few dozen yuan more. For logistics companies, the experience is completely different.

A heavy truck has to run over 100,000 kilometers a year. Some port trucks run short-haul routes for more than ten hours a day, and vehicles in mining areas even have to operate continuously. As long as a fleet has dozens of trucks, the rise in diesel prices will quickly eat into profits.

Unfortunately, freight rates cannot rise arbitrarily. Customers are also holding a calculator in hand: whoever raises prices first may see orders taken away by competitors. The cost of rising oil prices must first be borne by transportation companies.

At this point, the calculus for electric heavy-duty trucks changed.

Sany Heavy Industry once released a clear figure to the public: before the conflict, it took Southeast Asian and South Asian customers about 28 months to recoup the higher upfront cost of buying a Chinese electric heavy-duty truck. After diesel prices rose, the payback period shortened to 18 months.

Saving ten months is too attractive for large logistics companies to ignore. For small and medium-sized truck fleets that buy vehicles on loans, the experience is even more direct: recouping the price difference ten months earlier means bearing less interest, less oil price volatility, and less operational risk for nearly a year.

The impact quickly showed up in orders. China's exports of electric trucks to South Asia increased more than fivefold, while exports to Southeast Asia nearly tripled. In June of this year, Sany Heavy Industry delivered 880 heavy-duty trucks in a single batch, setting a record for the company's largest single delivery. The company did not disclose where the vehicles were shipped.

Sany's overseas market strategy has also changed. In the past, Europe was an important target market for Chinese electric heavy-duty trucks. European customers often need to consider emission regulations, carbon targets, and corporate environmental image when purchasing such vehicles. The products must pass strict certification, and time to market is relatively long.

Southeast Asian customers ask more directly. How much does a truck cost? How far can it run when fully loaded? Will local high temperatures and the rainy season affect the battery? How many trips can it make a day, and how quickly will it start saving money?

These questions may not sound very technical, but they determine whether the customer will sign the contract. Sany has started developing lower-priced truck models for the local market and adjusting configurations based on road conditions, load capacity, and climate. Its key markets are gradually shifting from Europe to Southeast Asia.

This is not simply loading a Chinese truck onto a ship. Overseas customers also require charging equipment, spare parts, maintenance personnel, and battery management solutions. If there are no high-power charging stations locally, trucks can only sit idle in the yard once purchased.

Chinese companies can address these issues because the domestic market has already gone through them. In 2021, the share of electric heavy-duty trucks in the Chinese heavy-duty truck market was still close to zero. By last year, it had risen to around 30%. In the first half of this year, about 140,000 electric heavy-duty trucks were sold domestically, and the use of diesel trucks began to decline.

Port short-haul, steel-plant logistics, mining operations, and urban waste transport were the earliest scenarios where electric heavy-duty trucks landed. These vehicles are not displayed in exhibition halls. Every day, they climb hills hauling dozens of tons of goods, brake, charge, and then continue on their way.

Whether the battery can withstand high temperatures, how much range drops in winter, how high full-load power consumption is, and how long battery swaps take — domestic fleets have already provided answers through real-world operations. Chinese manufacturers have also repeatedly refined their products in the process. If battery capacity is insufficient, they enlarge it or arrange battery swapping. If there are many slopes, they re-match the motor and axle. Since vehicles return to the depot at irregular times, the charging and scheduling systems are adjusted.

The version overseas customers buy now is the one produced after all these issues were resolved. A comparison with the Tesla Semi reveals the difference. The Semi was unveiled years ago, but its production schedule has been delayed several times, while China's electric heavy-duty trucks have been operating in batches in ports, mines, and logistics parks.

Truck customers usually don't care much about launch events. What they value more is when the vehicle will arrive at the port, whether spare parts are available if it breaks down, and how long it takes for maintenance personnel to arrive.

However, Chinese electric heavy-duty trucks also face challenges overseas. The most realistic problem is that they are expensive. In Australia, an electric heavy-duty truck costs about 500,000 Australian dollars, equivalent to around 350,000 US dollars, nearly twice the price of diesel trucks in the same class. This price makes it difficult for fleet owners to sign on the spot, especially for small companies with only a few trucks: once business volume declines, the initial investment can become a heavy burden.

But the purchase price is only the first line of the ledger. Local companies estimate that even before this round of oil price increases, the total operating costs of electric heavy-duty trucks were about 70% lower than those of diesel trucks. After the rise in diesel prices, the gap in fuel costs has widened further. So what customers really compare is not which truck is cheaper, but which one costs less over the three- or five-year operating period.

Another issue is charging. Electric passenger cars can use urban public charging stations, but heavy trucks require much higher power. Near mines, ports, industrial parks, and long-haul highway routes, there are often no charging facilities that can meet the demands of heavy trucks.

Sany's approach is to provide customers with power generation, energy storage, and charging equipment together. The vehicles arrive, and the supporting energy facilities are built accordingly. For markets with weak local power grids, this approach is more practical than selling trucks alone. In the past, once a truck was sold and the keys were handed over, the deal was essentially done. Today, when selling electric heavy-duty trucks, companies also need to consider where and when the vehicles can be recharged, and what to do after a local power outage. To some extent, Chinese companies are no longer just selling a truck, but a small energy station and a transportation fleet.

The Middle East conflict did not create electric heavy-duty trucks. The growth in domestic sales, a mature supply chain, and large numbers of vehicles already in operation all predate the conflict. What war does is push up diesel prices and shorten the payback period for electric heavy-duty trucks by ten months.

Currently, South Asia and Southeast Asia have begun switching to electric trucks. Next, Africa and Latin America — regions with high oil prices and large-scale mineral transportation — are likely to see similar demand. Chinese electric trucks are rapidly expanding around the world.