The slowdown was due mainly to fleets and other purchasers of electric trucks pulling back on orders for electric cargo vans, according to a recent report by CALSTART. Zero-emission cargo vans currently make up about 88 percent of the electric trucks on U.S. highways, according to the study, Zeroing in on Zero-Emission Trucks, released last month.
The other five segments making up zero-emission trucking (ZET) — including drayage trucks, step vans, garbage trucks and yard tractors — still saw “strong adoption numbers” in 2025 according to the study. However, overall ZET deployments were down 49.2 percent in the first six months of 2025 compared to the same period in 2024, according to the report.
| Zero-Emission Trucks by the Numbers |
| Zero-emission trucks (ZETs) on U.S. roadways: 59,300 |
| Percentage of total number of medium- and heavy-duty trucks in the U.S. that are ZETs: 0.39% |
| Number of ZETs deployed in the first six months of 2025: 6,526 |
| Percentage ZET deployments were down in the first six months of 2025: 49.2% |
| Top three states for ZET deployments: California (10,659); Texas (5,201); Florida (5,099) |
| Source: CALSTART |
The data provides a window into a market policymakers and technology providers have aimed to see transition to less polluting forms of transportation — in part, by the intensity of their use, which involves the daily activities of trucking goods from ports and delivering packages. Medium- and heavy-duty trucks make up only 13 percent of vehicles on U.S. roadways, yet account for 30 percent of greenhouse gas emissions from the highway transportation sector, according to the Union of Concerned Scientists.
States including California have enacted policies like its Advanced Clean Trucks and Advanced Clean Fleets rules, which have placed the Golden State on a march to phase out fossil-fuel-burning trucks. Drayage trucks operating along corridors with heavy truck traffic will need to be zero emission by 2035, despite action taken by Congress and the White House to nullify these rules.
Recent changes by the California Air Resources Board have modified Advanced Clean Fleets requirements, extending the timeline for full compliance from 2027 to 2030.
EVs of all sorts face resistance from Washington, as the Trump administration has removed purchase and other incentives. Last week, the Environmental Protection Agency took the step of removing the Endangerment Finding, ending its determination that climate change poses a threat to public health. The move ended mandates to limit and control greenhouse gases.
“The trucking market is impacted by key policy changes at the federal level that doesn't present a clear path forward for transitioning to ZETs,” Jacob Richard, a CALSTART technical project manager, said via email.
However, the CALSTART report followed the recent move by other advocates in the EV industry and focused on the operational cost savings of electric trucks (e-trucks) in areas like maintenance and fuel. Operators of electric trucks can expect to see fuel cost reductions of about 45 cents per mile, according to the CALSTART report.
States are taking their own steps to advance the use of e-trucks, building out heavy-duty charging infrastructure, or offering a sales tax exemption. Meanwhile, the company Greenlane is developing heavy-duty charging plazas along heavily traveled truck routes in California, with programs like Charge on Us, a partnership with dealerships that includes $500 in charging credits.
“The biggest near-term headwind for zero-emission truck adoption is still the cost of entry,” Patrick Macdonald-King, Greenlane CEO, said in an email. Zero-emission heavy-duty trucks continue to carry significantly higher upfront costs than diesel alternatives, he said, but strong incentive programs are helping to bring them down.
“Furthermore, new models that bundle charging with truck purchases could emerge that help reduce total cost of ownership,” Macdonald-King said. The company Windrose offers three months of unlimited charging at Greenlane locations to buyers of its trucks.
Conventional wisdom might suggest that California with its policy framework and incentives is the center for zero-emission medium- and heavy-duty trucking — and it is a heavyweight in this sector — but it is not alone. States including Georgia, Washington and Wisconsin have emerged as bright spots for electric trucking, based on the number of ZETs deployed compared to the total number of trucks in the state.
“Georgia has attracted a lot of ZET manufacturing investment and has numerous infrastructure programs that help drive adoption for ZETs in the state,” Richard said.
States with heavy port and drayage operations are also ripe for the ZET evolution, Macdonald-King said.
“It’s also one of the most highly incentivized areas as ports face challenges with carbon emissions and are often located in underserved communities, with dense freight activity, predictable routes, and proximity to charging infrastructure [that] make them well suited for early electrification,” he said.
