Diesel prices are rising worldwide. So are electric truck sales.

The market for battery-powered trucks may be slowing in the U.S. — but globally it’s a very different story.

Worldwide, sales of medium- and heavy-duty electric trucks hit a record high in the first half of this year, according to research firm BloombergNEF. Nearly 160,000 e-trucks were sold in that time period, up by around 75% from the first half of 2025.

A glance at the chart above reveals that the momentum for electric trucks has been building for years. But spiking diesel prices brought on by the Iran war have only strengthened the case for the vehicles, which are cheaper to operate and maintain but cost more upfront than their fossil-fueled counterparts. The higher the price of fuel, the quicker going electric pays for itself.

China absolutely dominates the market for electric trucks, much as it does with other clean technologies. More than nine out of 10 e-trucks sold worldwide in the first six months of 2026 were in China, which BNEF says has strong policies supporting the shift and an extensive battery supply chain.

Still, don’t discount other countries. About one in every five trucks sold in China is electric, but that share is even higher in Norway and Switzerland. And China is increasingly sending more of its battery-equipped vehicles to the rest of the world, with its exports of electric tractor trucks in just the first half of this year more than double those for all of 2025, according to Bloomberg News.

As for the U.S., the country’s battery-electric truck market has come to a ​“near standstill,” BNEF says, ​“with policy and cost headwinds limiting uptake.” The second Trump administration has killed tax credits for zero-emissions vehicles, frozen grants for electric trucks and chargers, and worked with Congress to nullify California’s power to set its own emissions reduction standards for trucks and cars.

There are, however, bright spots for the industry in America. California, for one, has committed billions of dollars in incentives to encourage truckers to go electric, and now has more zero-emissions heavy-duty trucks on the road than any other state. Plus, Tesla recently announced that it began mass production of its electric semitruck at a Nevada factory. According to BNEF’s interviews with industry members, the truck’s price tag of between $250,000 and $300,000 is competitive. It also charges faster and has a longer range than electric trucks from traditional manufacturers.

Regardless of what happens in the U.S., electric trucks are on a global roll that’s primed to accelerate. As one trucker in China told Bloomberg News, ​“I don’t think anyone will switch back to diesel trucks. Nobody wants to return to a last-generation technology.”