How much does it cost to run an electric truck?
An electric truck costs about 2.5x the cost of a diesel equivalent. When most people start thinking about comparing electric trucks to diesel, they focus only on this metric capital cost. But that’s not the complete picture. You also need charging infrastructure (further capital cost!) – and, beyond that, the real driver of your fleet’s economics: operating costs which determine how much it costs to run those trucks over time.
As an example, a tractor unit travelling 100,000 miles per year may use more than £50k worth of fuel per year. Another way of looking at it is that every 2 years that diesel vehicle consumes it’s purchase price in fuel.
That’s why we always suggest fleets consider Total Cost of Ownership (TCO) in any vehicle fleet decision.
What factors influence Electric Truck Total Cost of Ownership?
TCO isn’t just “purchase price.” For electric trucks, total cost of ownership includes:
- Capital Cost of the vehicle – the vehicle and any post-delivery modifications.
- Government Incentives – in the form of grants or enhanced capital allowances.
- Charging infrastructure – the chargers but also any civil works and grid upgrades which can dramatically increase the price.
- Fuel and Electricity Costs – to power the vehicle on journeys, adBlue is also a part of this picture.
- Maintenance Costs – to keep the vehicle, it’s tyres and any infrastructure in good condition.
- Other running costs – like congestion charges, insurance and licencing fees.
TCO is also closely linked to how heavily you utilise the vehicle. As a rule of thumb, the more you use an electric truck, the more rapidly it will pay back the additional investment. More on this later.
Example Total Cost of Ownership of an Electric Truck
The Example Fleet
There are a wide range of truck operations going on in the UK ranging from regional pallet networks to international haulage through own account fleets. For our example, we have picked a retailer who is undertaking a mixture of primary logistics from suppliers and secondary logistics to retail environments.
The charts below provides an indication of the types of duty cycle we see with these customers. Route lengths might range from 30 up to 400 miles, and journey durations may range from less than an hour to more than 10 (see Figures 1 and 2). What is apparent from these distributions is that there’s a wide variety of routes that might be options for electrification. How they are put together can have significant implications for feasibility and total cost of ownership in practice.
These fleets tend to use a range of vehicle classes. For our analysis, we’ll start with a 4×2 tractor unit doing 60k miles per year. Some other assumptions about it’s operation are given below in Table 1.
The Figure 3 below shows a comparison of Total Cost of Ownership over 7 years:
A TCO difference of £333,000 exists for the unoptimised case, now let’s see how we can improve things.
Total Cost of Ownership Assumptions:
How can fleets improve electric truck Total Cost of Ownership?
While fleet operators can’t influence OEM prices, there are several key TCO factors they can control.
Control Your Charging Costs
Charging accounts for 80% of TCO costs in our baseline, so how much you pay for charging really matters. Some typical charging costs are shown in the Figure 4 below.
So where and how you charge your vehicles can make a huge difference to running costs and thus TCO.
Depot vs On Route Charging
Maximising the amount of charging you do in the depot requires careful route selection and planning. Tools like FPS Operate can automate the process of pairing vehicles with routes and scheduling charging when vehicles are on site.
Not all off-site locations are equal though. The differences between Milence and public network sites are shown in the Figure 4 above.
A further option though is using other fleet’s chargers or shared charging infrastructure. The prices fleets charge for this can be a fraction of the public network prices and what is more locations can be reserved in advance through booking platforms like FPS Book. Charger Booking platforms like FPS also allow fleets to improve charger return on investment by generating revenue from 3rdparty fleet use.
The platforms also facilitate the operational aspects of infrastructure sharing through ensuring drivers know things like site location, access arrangements, health and safety rules, available facilities and how to use the chargers before they show up. They also play a critical role in ensuring security teams and other site stakeholders know how to manage and support the drivers whilst they are on-site.
Managing reliance on the public network can really improve TCO
As an example, even shifting just 30% of your charging from public chargers (at £0.80/kWh) to depot chargers (at £0.20/kWh) can save thousands annually. A 4×2 tractor unit could reduce its annual energy bill by around £27,000 for the baseline truck (60,000 annual mileage).
Minimising Costs from Depot Charging
Choosing when to charge carefully can be key. In some parts of the country, even fleets with flat energy tariffs can benefit from reduced network related charges through smart charging. FPS Operate automatically does this in a way that synchronises with route schedules, site energy use and vehicle state all in real time.
Tariff choice is also important. Don’t settle for standard business rates. Many suppliers now offer EV-friendly, off-peak deals. By shifting your charging to these lower-cost periods and charging flexibly, with the help of FPS Operate software, you can drastically reduce your energy expenses.
The Figure 5 below shows how TCO varies for our baseline 4×2 tractor unit below.
Matching your charger to your operations
Chargers are a major driver of vehicle turnaround times. The Table 2 below summarises 20%-80% charge times for a range of charging powers and shows the % of the stationary time is being used. It is important to note that not all of this time is available for charging as not all of it occurs at the home depot and also stationary time needs to be used for other tasks like loading, driver change overs and cleaning.
Above charging powers of 120kW less than 20% of stationary time even on double shift operation is used for charging providing windows for other activities and tasks.
Maximising electric truck utilisation
It’s also possible to optimise how each truck is used. By choosing the right duty cycles and using active-management software – like FPS Operate – you can assign EVs to routes that maximise their mileage, whilst respecting range constraints and the need for charging. Platforms like this manage this better route planning/allocations and optimised charging schedules.
How much can utilisation be increased on an electric truck? To get an idea of the scope for this a vehicle doing 60,000 miles per year, running one shift, 7 days a week:
- Daily mileage: 165 miles
- Average speed: 20 miles per hour
- Driving time: 165 ÷ 20 = 8.2 hours
- Stationary time: 24 – 8.2= 15.8 hours (available for charging)
If we doubled utilisation to 100,000 miles per year by enabling double shifting of vehicles through smart route allocation and planning – you get:
- Daily mileage: 275 miles
- Driving time: 275 ÷ 20 = 13.7 hours per day
- Stationary time: 24 – 13.7 = 10.3 hours per day (still plenty for charging)
How much charging time is needed is discussed in our charging strategy section.
Impact of increasing utilisation on an electric truck
The Figure 6 below illustrates how annual mileage impacts the total cost of ownership for a 4×2 tractor unit with 120kW DC charger and 100% depot charging at electricity price of 0.20 £/kWh, comparing the break-even annual mileage for electric vehicles, both with and without infrastructure costs.
Battery Pack Right Sizing
Every electric truck offers multiple battery‐size options. Opting for a smaller pack can cut your upfront vehicle cost by 10 -15 %. The benefits of this approach include:
- Higher payloads, so higher payload capacity.
- Quicker turnaround with fast top‐ups via rapid charging.
At the planning stage, FPS Plan can guide you to the optimal balance of battery size and DC charger quantity across your fleet mix – ensuring you meet operational demand while keeping Capital Cost to the minimum.
What is the best case for electric truck TCO today?
It may not be possible to align all the factors described above in your particular operation, but Table 3 and Table 4 below provide an overview of the economic picture today.
This example represents an ideal scenario: a 4×2 tractor with a small battery configuration (3 packs), operating at a high utilisation rate of 100,000 miles annually, with 100% depot charging via a 120 kW DC charger (shared between two vehicles). At high utilisation we would expect the vehicle to be undertaking between 2 and 3 charging sessions per day.
When these conditions are met, the total cost of ownership can be favourable for the EV compared to its diesel equivalent.
Other Factors eHGV Cost Reduction Pathway
OEMs are investing in technology and production capacity to reduce electric truck costs over the coming years.
The Figure 7 below illustrates some modelling we undertook for a client modelling the likely price trajectory of a 4×2 tractor unit based on a study undertaken by Ricardo. (E-Truck Virtual Teardown Study Final Report (Ricardo, 2021). The trajectory of component prices looks likely to lead to significant purchase price reductions over the coming years 14% by 2028 vs today and 22% by 2030 further expanding the range of cases for which the economics are favourable.
Exploring Further – Assess Electric Truck TCO for your Specific Case
Everyone’s operation is different, so we’ve built a dashboard so you can plug in your own numbers – mileage, electricity rates, battery size etc. and see:
- Your TCO breakdown (Capex, energy, maintenance, infrastructure)
- Which variables matter most (where you’ll get the biggest saving)
- How EVs stack up versus diesel under different scenarios
Final Thoughts
Even in a “worst-case” scenario – large batteries, some public charging – EVs aren’t as expensive as you might think once you look at TCO.
By applying operational best practices – maximizing vehicle utilisation, prioritising depot and off-peak charging, and striking the right balance between battery size and charger investment – you can make electric the most cost-effective way to run your HGV fleet.
TCO isn’t just another number. It’s your roadmap to smarter electrification. Plug in your data, try different scenarios, and see exactly how you can drive down costs.
If you’d like to learn more about drivers of electric vehicle costs or assess the impact on a whole fleet we’d be happy to hear from you! Contact us.