Mercedes-Benz Trucks held about 38% of Europe's market for locally CO2-free medium- and heavy-duty trucks in the first half of 2026, yet the segment itself still sits at just 2% of heavy-duty registrations — a gap CEO Karin Rådström says public infrastructure and diesel-cost parity must close before fleets commit at scale.

Speaking at Daimler Truck's Media Night in Hannover ahead of IAA Transportation 2026, Rådström told reporters customers have driven the eActros 600 more than 160 million kilometers since series production began at the end of 2024. The European Automobile Manufacturers' Association, in full-year 2025 registration data released Jan. 29, put all electrically chargeable trucks above 3.5 tonnes at 4.2% of the EU market, up from 2.3% a year earlier.

What does the EU require by 2030?

Daimler Truck estimates roughly 35% of new trucks must run on batteries or hydrogen by 2030 to meet EU CO2 targets. The regulation calls for a 43% cut in CO2 emissions from new heavy-duty vehicles versus 2019 levels. The Council of the EU adopted temporary flexibility on March 30 that lets manufacturers bank credits from 2025 through 2029, with the core rules due for revision in 2027.

The company puts the penalty exposure at about €120 million for each percentage point Mercedes-Benz Trucks misses. "A 10-point miss effectively would wipe out the full profitability globally of Mercedes-Benz Trucks for that year," Rådström said.

Why aren't fleets buying?

Rådström named two blockers: infrastructure and cost parity with diesel. Europe today has fewer than 2,000 public truck charge points, most of them standard CCS chargers. By 2030, she said, the continent needs 35,000 megawatt charging points.

Hydrogen coverage is thinner still. Europe has around 187 hydrogen stations, most supplying only 350 bar, which Rådström said is unsuitable for trucks. She set the 2030 need at 1,000 stations.

On toll policy, Germany prices the diesel-to-electric gap at about 33 to 35 cents per kilometer. Only 13 of the EU's 27 member states have adopted CO2-based tolls, and Rådström said fewer than a handful of those set a meaningful differential.

What does Dachser see in its network?

Stefan Hohm, chief development officer at German logistics provider Dachser, said the company runs 25 emission-free delivery areas in Europe and more than 200 battery-electric trucks, including more than 160 Mercedes-Benz Actros models. The fleet remains a fraction of operations.

"We are proud to have more than 200 battery-electric trucks on the road, but the truth is we run more than 15,000," Hohm said. "Financing the first generation of battery-electric vehicles remains the main hurdle for our transport partners."

A Dachser network study found almost all of its 300 European branches have access to 1 to 3 megawatts of grid capacity, with 800 energy providers to coordinate in Germany alone. Dachser has built more than 800 charging stations on its own yards.

Hohm mapped the toll landscape sharply: nearly 33 cents per kilometer in Germany, nothing in France, and almost €1 in Switzerland. "If you have your own tariff in the depot, it sometimes really messes up the business case if you have to pay more than double when you are charging publicly," he said.

What changes on the product side?

The eActros Lowliner, a battery-electric tractor with a low fifth-wheel height for high-volume mega trailers, opened for orders Sept. 15. Series production at the Mercedes-Benz plant in Wörth is set for the second quarter of 2027. The three-battery version offers around 500 kilometers of range at full load, with megawatt charging arriving in the second half of 2027 cutting a 10-to-80% session to under 30 minutes.

On hydrogen, a small series of 100 NextGenH2 fuel-cell trucks enters customer operations from the end of 2026, with Dachser as launch customer. Hohm said the first truck will run two shifts out of Malsch, near Karlsruhe, targeting 220,000 kilometers a year.

What is Daimler asking from Brussels?

The company wants an early EU review of heavy-duty CO2 regulation, tying the 2030 target to infrastructure rollout and total cost of ownership. Daimler is asking that the benchmark reward operators — and manufacturers — for verifiable zero-emission miles, not just vehicles sold.

Professional driver and content creator Tobias Wagner, known as the "Elektrotrucker," launched an eActros 600 world tour of roughly 45,000 kilometers across about 30 countries, with no more than 80 charging stops. "Success for me would be that the conversation shifts — that we're not talking about if those trucks work, because they do — but more to: okay, it's working, but what do we need to do as a next step in order to build the ecosystem around those electric trucks?" Wagner said.

Whether Europe's 2027 regulatory review links the 2030 CO2 cut to binding charger and station build-outs will determine whether the 38% lead Mercedes-Benz Trucks holds today translates into the volume the penalty math demands.