Electric Trucks: Route Planning Is Changing

At a Glance

• Hanover, 15-20 September: IAA Transportation confirmed the arrival of the long-haul electric truck (European Tesla Semi, BYD ETT 44, Volvo, MAN).
• On the same 15 September, a cab-less truck started delivering to a Lidl store near Kassel: a demonstrator, but a strong signal.
• Charging is the real issue: around 730 charge points above 350 kW in Europe, against 35,000 megawatt charge points needed by 2030.
• Route planning swaps one set of constraints for another: energy replaces kilometres, the charger becomes a slot to book, and charging has to fall during the break.
• Mixed fleets will be the norm: which vehicle for which round?

One Week in September That Says It All — Hanover and Edermünde

Electric truck route planning used to be a topic for forecasters. September 2026 made it concrete. From 15 to 20 September, IAA Transportation 2026 brought together more than 140,000 visitors and 1,589 exhibitors from 46 countries in Hanover. On that same 15 September, about 200 km away, a cab-less truck began delivering to a Lidl store in Edermünde, near Kassel.

For operators, one question: what changes in the way we plan?

The data in this article reflects the situation as of 24 September 2026. Updated on 30 September 2026: T&E study on the cost of an electric truck in France.

The Long-Haul Electric Truck Leaves the Trade Show

What Was Announced in Hanover

• Tesla Semi, European version: 550 km at 40 t GCW (gross combination weight, trailer included), 1 kWh/km, under 9,100 kg unladen, charging at up to 800 kW (more than 60% of range in 30 minutes, according to the manufacturer). Demonstrations in the first half of 2027, European deliveries at the end of 2027.
• BYD ETT 44: a 4×2 tractor for 44 t, with a 651 kWh LFP battery (lithium iron phosphate, a robust and cheaper chemistry). Up to around 600 km according to BYD, with no measurement conditions specified, and charging above 1.5 MW (20 to 80% in about twenty minutes). Deliveries in Europe in 2027.
• The established manufacturers: Volvo announces up to 700 km for its FH Aero Electric, MAN presented a new generation of the eTGX, and Milence demonstrated megawatt charging on Daimler Truck, MAN and Scania trucks.

On the market side, Transport & Environment estimates that new entrants (Tesla, BYD and others) could capture 24 to 31% of the European electric heavy-truck market in 2030, with a total cost of ownership (TCO: purchase, energy and maintenance combined) around 12% lower. That projection assumes these manufacturers hit their production targets.

For France, a Transport & Environment study published on 28 September 2026 puts the savings of a European-made electric truck at up to €50,000 over five years compared with diesel, with payback after four years. That result relies on subsidies that can reach €107,000 per truck according to T&E, and on a specific profile: 116,000 km a year, 75% of mileage on motorways, 80% of charging at the depot. Without those subsidies, the savings would fall to €10,000 in 2030. Before buying, compare that profile with the mileage and motorway share of your own routes.

France’s draft budget bill for 2027, tabled on 1 October 2026, provides for a reduced excise rate of €0.50/MWh on electricity used to charge goods vehicles over 7.5 t that run solely on electricity. It will only apply after authorisation by the Council of the EU, from a date set by ministerial order. The same bill cuts the tax advantage for gas, ED95 and B100 trucks: from 2027, their accelerated depreciation (suramortissement) would be calculated on the extra cost compared with a diesel truck, as is already the case for electric trucks. These measures can still be amended until the bill is voted at the end of the year.

Charging, the Real Topic of the Show

MCS (Megawatt Charging System) is the charging standard for heavy trucks at 1,000 kW and beyond. Milence is targeting 70 charging hubs by the end of 2027, more than half of them with MCS. MAN is adding 50 sites to its Charge&Go network. Shell offers bookable charging slots. In France, Voltix, a VINCI Group subsidiary, opened a station in Vierzon (Cher) on 2 October 2026, where the A20, A71 and A85 motorways meet: 4 charge points of 1.5 MW, each with dual CCS and MCS connectors (8 points planned eventually). Billed as the most powerful in France for road freight, it announces a 30- to 45-minute charge, which fits within the 45-minute break. Voltix is aiming for 50 operational stations by 2028.

The starting point is modest: around 730 charge points above 350 kW in Europe today, against an estimated need for 35,000 public MCS points by 2030. The president of the VDA, the German automotive industry association, summed it up in Hanover: the vehicles are ready, but the infrastructure is not moving at the same pace.

The Regulatory Framework, in Brief

The CO2 charge in truck tolls is covered in our spring 2026 round-up. Two further points. The European Parliament voted to extend until 30 June 2031 the option of exempting zero-emission trucks from tolls, fully or partially: each Member State decides. And the weights and dimensions rules grant zero-emission vehicles up to 2 extra tonnes, a bonus Transport & Environment considers insufficient for long haul.

The Autonomous Truck — What Lidl Is Really Testing

Since 15 September, an electric truck with no cab, no steering wheel and no pedals has been shuttling between Lidl’s Edermünde warehouse and a nearby store. It runs at SAE Level 4: the vehicle drives itself, but only within a defined area. According to Einride, it is the first truck of its kind in daily operation on a public road in Germany.

The framework remains cautious: authorisation from the Federal Motor Transport Authority (KBA) from 14 August 2026 to 28 February 2027, 25 km/h maximum, remote technical supervision. According to Lidl, the vehicle carries 15 Euro pallets of dry goods, runs up to three times a day and is expected to move more than 3,000 pallets over the four months of the project. The route is only a few hundred metres long, according to press reports.

This is a demonstrator, not a revolution. But a major retailer is running it in real conditions. The next announced step is a milk run — a regular round serving several points in a fixed order — at another site. That is precisely a vehicle routing problem.

Electric Trucks: What Changes for Route Planning

The constraints do not disappear: others take their place.

Electric — From Distance to Energy

Range becomes an energy constraint, not a kilometre one. Consumption varies with the load carried, gradient, speed and temperature. Winter cold will cut range, just as the heat weighed on this summer’s rounds. A plan that works in kilometres can therefore fail in kWh.

Charging can coincide with the mandatory break. Regulation (EC) No 561/2006 requires a break of at least 45 minutes after 4.5 hours of driving. On paper, 30 minutes of charging gives the Semi back more than 60% of its range, and about twenty minutes take the BYD from 20 to 80%. Charging placed during the break therefore costs no time at all. Placed badly — far from the break, or at an occupied charger — it can cost an hour.

The charger becomes a resource to book. With bookable slots, charging is planned like a delivery time window, with the same risk of cascading delays.

The battery eats into payload. The Tesla tractor weighs under 9.1 t unladen according to the manufacturer, and the 2 regulatory tonnes do not always offset the battery. Every kilo counts for more, which makes load optimisation even more useful.

Tolls redraw the routes. An exempt or reduced-rate truck does not have the same optimal route as a diesel on the same journey.

Researchers have a name for this problem: the EVRP (Electric Vehicle Routing Problem). It is the variant of the vehicle routing problem that accounts for the battery’s state of charge and charging stops.

Autonomous — The Break Disappears, Other Constraints Arrive

With no driver, there are no more driving times or breaks to respect. But the truck only operates within its operational design domain (ODD), meaning the road sections and conditions for which it has been validated. Its speed is capped, remote supervision is still required, and charging becomes the only reason to stop.

Summary Table

Mixed Diesel-Electric Fleets: The Day-to-Day Reality of the Coming Years

Nobody will replace their fleet in one go. Diesel, electric and, locally, autonomous vehicles will share the same transport plan for a long time.

Large carriers are getting ready. On 5 October 2026, Geodis announced an order for 110 electric 44-tonne trucks from Volvo Trucks and Renault Trucks, to be delivered by May 2027 for urban deliveries and long-haul transport in France. Its European Road Network division will then run 190 electric vehicles. The group is building corridors along France’s main routes, with a charging point every 250 to 500 km: around sixty points today, more than 200 targeted by 2030. Stage lengths are then set by these points.

The question is therefore no longer just “in what order do we deliver?”, but also “which vehicle for which round?”. Electric suits predictable regional rounds that return to the depot, where it charges overnight. Diesel keeps the long, uncertain distances; electric only takes on long haul on regular routes lined with charging points the carrier controls. Autonomous takes the short, repetitive shuttles. And these assignments are recalculated as orders, charger availability and battery levels change.

This assignment is an optimisation problem in its own right, one that neither a GPS nor a spreadsheet can solve (see route optimisation versus GPS).

Conclusion — What Does Not Change

The truck is changing, but a transport plan remains indispensable. Each new technology adds constraints that need to be modelled rather than endured: energy, charging, payload, authorised roads. Whether your fleet goes electric in 2027 or in 2032, the real question is whether your planning can represent those constraints.

Octave Engine sticks to a narrow scope: turning your real constraints (time windows, capacities, volumes, driving times) into optimised route and loading plans in a few seconds, with data hosted in France and in Europe. It is not a TMS, not charging management software, and not a regulatory compliance tool.

Let’s talk about your rounds: which of them could go electric without changing a single departure time?

Request a demo →

Sources

• SustainableTruckVan — IAA Transportation 2026 closes with 140,000 visitors — more than 140,000 visitors, 1,589 exhibitors from 46 countries, Milence MCS demonstration on Daimler Truck, MAN and Scania, remarks by the VDA president
• trans.info — A new era is dawning for electric trucks — MCS up to 1,000 kW, 70 Milence hubs by end of 2027, Shell bookable slots, 50 MAN sites, ~730 points above 350 kW against ~35,000 MCS points needed by 2030
• VINCI Autoroutes — Voltix, station de recharge puissante pour les poids lourds électriques — opened on 2 October 2026 in Vierzon (A20, A71, A85), 4 points of 1.5 MW with CCS and MCS, 8 eventually, 30- to 45-minute charge, 50 stations by 2028
• GEODIS — Order for 110 new electric trucks (press release of 5 October 2026, reproduced by FAQ Logistique) — 110 trucks of 44 t, Volvo Trucks and Renault Trucks, delivery by May 2027, urban and long-haul deliveries in France, 190 electric vehicles for the European Road Network, around sixty charging points, more than 200 by 2030, one point every 250 to 500 km
• EuropaWire — MAN Truck & Bus electrifies IAA Transportation 2026 — new eTGX generation, charging ecosystem
• trans.info — IAA Transportation 2026: 5 truck trends to watch — ranges of 600 to 700 km, MCS, Chinese manufacturers
• FreightWaves — Tesla targets end-2027 Europe deliveries for the Semi — 550 km at 40 t, 1 kWh/km, under 9,100 kg, 800 kW, demonstrations in the first half of 2027, deliveries at the end of 2027
• electrive.com — BYD brings ETT 44 electric truck to Europe — 4×2 tractor for 44 t, 651 kWh LFP Blade, around 600 km with no conditions specified, deliveries in 2027
• Electrek — BYD unveils flagship 600 km electric truck with 1.5 MW charging — charging above 1.5 MW, 20 to 80% in about twenty minutes
• Transport & Environment — Are new electric entrants serious competition for European truckmakers? — 24 to 31% of the European electric heavy-truck market in 2030, TCO around 12% lower
• Transport & Environment — Are electric trucks cheaper to operate than diesel? — France: up to €50,000 saved over five years, payback after four years, subsidies of up to €107,000 per truck, €10,000 in 2030 without them; assumptions: 116,000 km a year, 75% motorway, 80% depot charging
• Assemblée nationale — Projet de loi de finances pour 2027 (n° 3210) — Article 24: reduced excise rate of €0.5/MWh on electricity for electric trucks over 7.5 t, subject to authorisation by the Council of the EU; Article 25: accelerated depreciation for gas, ED95 and B100 trucks calculated on the extra cost for purchases from 2027 to 2030
• Lidl Deutschland — Autonomer Lkw (press release of 15 September 2026) — 15 Euro pallets, up to three runs a day, more than 3,000 pallets over four months, multi-stop milk run planned at another site
• Einride — Einride and Lidl launch first autonomous cab-less truck on German public road — cab-less SAE Level 4, KBA authorisation, multi-stop extension
• electrive.com — Einride tests autonomous electric truck with Lidl — 25 km/h, authorisation of 14 August 2026 valid until 28 February 2027, remote supervision
• Automobile Propre — Ni volant, ni pédales, ni chauffeur : Lidl fait rouler ce camion autonome sur route ouverte — overview of the set-up, in French
• EUR-Lex — Regulation (EC) No 561/2006 — Article 7: break of at least 45 minutes after 4.5 hours of driving
• European Alternative Fuels Observatory — EU backs extended toll exemption for zero-emission trucks — extension until 30 June 2031, choice left to Member States
• Transport & Environment — The weights and dimensions law is crucial to accelerating zero-emission truck sales — 2 t bonus for zero-emission vehicles, considered insufficient for long haul