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Truck makers seek European emissions compliance relief
OEMs add to battery-electric portfolios amid concerns
Paccar's booth at IAA 2026 exemplified battery-electric trucks' growing role in Europe. (Keiron Greenhalgh/Transport Topics)
Key Takeaways:
- Truck makers used IAA Transportation to showcase new vehicles while warning about the cost of meeting European emissions targets.
- Daimler Truck, Volvo and other manufacturers called for faster deployment of electric, hydrogen and alternative-fuel infrastructure.
- European fleets face challenges similar to North American carriers, including fuel costs, driver pay and maintenance expenses.
HANNOVER, Germany — IAA Transportation dwarfs any North American truck show in size. Yet the 2026 edition found European carriers grappling with many of the same challenges as their North American counterparts: record diesel prices, rising driver pay and higher maintenance costs.
And much as is expected at American Trucking Associations’ Management Conference & Exhibition in October, truck makers closed deals with customers.
Daimler Truck, for one, secured major orders from European fleets. Lithuania’s Girteka Group agreed to purchase 900 Mercedes-Benz Actros L ProCabin trucks from the parent company of Freightliner and Western Star.
What differed at the biennial conference and trade show this year was the focus on regulatory compliance and a flood of new battery-electric models. Volvo Trucks and Volvo Group sister brand Renault were among the manufacturers, alongside a panoply of Chinese OEMs, unveiling new battery-electric trucks.
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BYD was one of many Chinese OEMs unveiling battery-electric trucks at IAA Transportation. (Keiron Greenhalgh/Transport Topics)
Still, an undercurrent of apprehension ran through the sprawling convention complex. Truck makers voiced concerns about mounting cost pressures on customers and their ability to meet internal and European Commission decarbonization targets. By 2030, carbon dioxide emissions from newly registered heavy-duty trucks must be 43% lower than in 2019, with steep penalties for missing the target.
“For every [percentage point] that we potentially miss the target, we could face around euro 120 million in penalties,” Daimler Truck CEO Karin Radstrom warned. “And say we missed the target by just 10%, so we reached 33% better CO2 in the fleet than in 2019. That would mean we’d have to pay $1.2 billion.”
Manufacturers join forces
As a result, Radstrom and her peers used the IAA stage to press European regulators, chiefly the European Commission, to delay the approaching compliance deadline.
The coalition of 17 truck and bus manufacturers operating under the European Automobile Manufacturers Association (ACEA) also called for a more coherent policy framework, including broader use of toll incentives for low-CO2-emitting trucks and reinvestment of anticipated carbon tax revenue. Manufacturers also urged action to accelerate fueling infrastructure for battery-electric, gas and hydrogen trucks.
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Major automotive CEOs at IAA Transportation cautioned the European Commission that delays on building out the necessary infrastructure could slow the adoption of zero-emission heavy-duty vehicles. (ACEA)
Truck makers are also investing directly. On Sept. 15, Daimler Truck and Volvo Group announced a partnership with technology and energy companies to expand Germany’s hydrogen-fueling network. Both companies plan to offer hydrogen fuel cell electric and hydrogen internal combustion engine models.
Radstrom maintains that electric trucks alone will not be enough to meet industry and regulatory decarbonization goals. Daimler at the show publicly showcased its Mercedes-Benz Trucks’ NextGenH2 hydrogen fuel cell electric tractor. The company plans to build 100 NextGenH2 trucks at its Worth plant by the end of 2026 as part of an initial production run, with full-scale production targeted for the early 2030s.
New products on display
Standing alongside Radstrom at the launch, Volvo Group CEO Martin Lundstedt said the industry should not be choosing winners. “We need all of these technologies to be successful,” he said. “But we need them at scale, and we need a synchronized uplift when it comes to the ecosystem.”
Volvo’s engines are now designed to run on diesel and alternative fuels. In May, the company unveiled a new engine platform that it said will underpin a future overhaul of Volvo and Mack engines in North America.
With Volvo approaching its 100th anniversary in 2027, the company also teased major changes, ending an IAA press conference by promising a “whole new range” of trucks and warning attendees not to “get too nostalgic.”
Mercedes-Benz Trucks, meanwhile, unveiled the eActros Lowliner version of its flagship battery-electric truck. During a tour of the company’s largest manufacturing plant in Worth am Rhein, TT learned how the truck solves a practical challenge: transporting the three-rack component loads used throughout the company’s supply network while advancing electrification goals. Earlier eActros models could carry only two racks. The Worth facility receives 300-400 deliveries daily, including shipments from Mercedes-Benz Trucks plants in Mannheim, Kassel and Gaggenau.
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Daimler Truck CEO Karin Radstrom at IAA Transportation. Behind her is a special edition Mercedes Benz Trucks Actros 600 celebrating the 130th anniversary of the founding of the company. (Keiron Greenhalgh/Transport Topics)
Volvo also launched a new battery-electric model aimed at expanding customer choice. On Sept. 14, the company unveiled the Volvo FH Electric/FH Aero Electric rigid truck with extended range for truck-and-trailer combinations weighing up to 80 tonnes.
The truck joins a range of battery-electric models introduced earlier this year, including the FH Electric, FM Electric, FMX Electric and FH Aero Electric, which won International Truck of the Year 2027. TT Executive Editor Joe Howard is an associate nonvoting member of the ITOY panel.
Elsewhere at the show, Traton Group’s Scania brand focused on diesel and battery-electric offerings, unveiling its Scania Dynamic upgrade package for R-series and S-series heavy-duty trucks with an emphasis on fuel efficiency and aerodynamics.
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A MAN 4x2 eTGX tractor can travel up to 660 kilometers, while a 6x2 version offers up to 720 kilometers of range. (MAN)
Sister brand MAN launched the eTGX battery-electric truck, featuring a new generation of batteries with 10% more usable energy. According to the company, a 4x2 eTGX tractor can travel up to 660 kilometers, while a 6x2 version offers up to 720 kilometers of range.
Paccar’s DAF division introduced new axle configurations for its XD, XF, XG and XG+ diesel models and unveiled the XG+ Electric.
Europe also got its first look at the standard-range Tesla Semi being produced at the company’s Reno, Nev., plant. Semi program chief Dan Priestley told attendees customer deliveries are scheduled to begin in late 2027.
