CALT: EVs Will Make Up Half of China's Heavy Truck Sales by 2028

According to a media report, the chairman of battery maker CATL stated that electric vehicles could account for half of China's heavy truck sales by 2028, up from 10% in 2024.

Zeng Yuqun's comments at a heavy-truck battery-swapping launch, as reported by the Shanghai government-affiliated news site Jiemian, suggest additional headwinds for fuel demand in China's trucking sector, which has already been hit by the rise of LNG trucks.

CATL announced on Saturday that it has begun production of a 60 gigawatt-hour energy storage and EV battery manufacturing base in Shandong, the company's first facility in northern China.

CATL announced on WeChat that the project will be expanded into a second and third phase over the next two years, resulting in a multibillion-yuan energy industry battery cluster in the region.

According to a local government notice issued last year, Shandong aims to develop a 100 billion yuan (approximately US$14 billion) lithium battery industry by the end of this year. This ambitious project involves the production of electrode materials, electrolytes, battery cells, and assembly operations. The plan demonstrates Shandong's determination to become a major player in China's rapidly expanding energy storage and lithium battery manufacturing industries.