The success of LNG for road transport use is quickly explained, as the average price of diesel in China last year was around $1635/tonne, compared to $1225/tonne for LNG, a difference of around 27 per cent.

Bearing in mind that in the Asian country trucks travel up to 300,000km per year with two drivers on board, this makes a difference to the total cost of ownership (TCO).

Hence, the offer by many local manufacturers of models equipped with one or two stacked large-capacity LNG tanks placed behind the cab on 6×4 prime movers, suitable for combinations of 49 tonnes total weight GCM (the most popular one in the Chinese market).

The success of LNG has created supply problems for cryogenic tanks, which are the critical component of gas engine drivelines. A similar technical solution, with a battery pack behind the cab, has been developed for BEVs, thanks to the wide space available between the prime mover’s cab and the front bulkhead of the semi-trailer.

When the batteries tend to run out, the battery swap procedure, i.e. the quick replacement of the entire battery pack with a charged one available at the equipped stations, takes no more than five to six minutes. This solution also allows hauliers to separate the costs of the two items, the truck and the batteries, which are equivalent in terms of economic commitment.

In practice, a trucking operator can decide to buy only the electric vehicle without batteries and rent them from a service provider.

The Cummins 15 H. (Image: Gianenrico Griffini)

Alt-Power in China

In the field of alternative driveline commercial vehicles, hybrids, battery BEVs and FCEVs, which make up the so-called NECVs (New Energy Commercial Vehicles), China has long been the country of absolute records.

According to figures released by Interact Analysis, in the first nine months of last year, registrations of NECVs (which include commercial vehicles, trucks and buses) reached 199,000 units, compared to 238,000 for the whole of 2022.

Of the total market, the lion’s share was accounted for by battery electric vehicles (BEVs), which totalled 191,000 units. The largest increases were in light (+70 per cent over the same period in 2022), heavy (+31 per cent) and medium segment vehicles (+five per cent).

In more detail, in the January-December 2023 period, 66,000 light NECVs were registered, 1,300 medium, 20,000 heavy units (consisting mainly of prime movers and trucks equipped with concrete transport equipment), about 3,100 FCEVs, and 3,200 diesel-electric hybrids.

Last year, Geely confirmed its position as market leader in the field of alternative vehicles with over 30,000 registrations (including mini, light, medium and heavy), followed by Seres (around 13,000 units), Dongfeng (10,000 trucks), Foton (9,800 units) and SAIC Motor (around 6,200 units).

Overall, ten manufacturers captured more than 67 per cent of the total NCEV market in China. The battery-swap solution took off in the Asian country mainly from 2019 onwards at the initiative of the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology. Which promoted the establishment of battery-swap stations.

In the first half of last year, these facilities exceeded 2,100. This fact has accelerated the development and delivery of commercial vehicles taking advantage of this technology. Another boost came from government incentives for battery modules and to reduce the cost of electricity used for charging.

The central government’s economic stimulus for NCEVs also includes hydrogen filling stations for fuel cell trucks. More than 1,200 stations are planned by 2025, concentrated in some pilot municipalities and provinces, which intend to be the first to promote the spread of trucks based on this technology.