Electric truck deployment in Chinese cities: Promotion policies and implications for future policymaking

Abstract

The electrification of road freight vehicles is an important approach to reduce air pollution and carbon emissions from the trucking industry. In its current stage, electric truck adoption in China is concentrated in a few cities that provide strong support for the technology. This article reviews the promotion policies adopted by ten major Chinese cities pioneering electric logistics vehicle (ELV) adoption. These policies include operational subsidies, road access privileges, subsidies for charger installation and operation, and other incentives for ELV charging and parking. As local purchasing subsidies for ELVs have been phased down, the operational subsidies and road access privileges provide the main impetus for urban ELV adoption. In addition, a holistic regional assessment identifying high‐potential provinces for future electric truck deployment in the country is described. The assessment takes into account eight indicators under three relevant categories of considerations (i.e., the unique attributes of the technology, where it is most needed, and where it has the most support) and shows that provinces favorable for electric truck deployments are concentrated in the east and south of China. Fleet operators, policymakers, and other industry stakeholders should consider prioritizing electric truck deployments in these regions. Some of these eight indicators are difficult or impossible to change, and policymakers looking to encourage more logistics vehicle electrification must therefore focus on those policy factors that can be changed. Policy recommendations are then formulated in light of the city‐level policy analysis as well as the regional assessment, which is expected to help inform future policymaking and speed ELV adoption in cities across the high‐potential regions and even nationwide.