{"id":3514,"date":"2026-04-10T14:40:00","date_gmt":"2026-04-10T14:40:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/climatevdo.com\/?p=3514"},"modified":"2026-04-14T18:02:43","modified_gmt":"2026-04-14T18:02:43","slug":"electric-trucks-are-selling-like-hotcakes","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/climatevdo.com\/?p=3514","title":{"rendered":"Electric Trucks Are Selling Like Hotcakes"},"content":{"rendered":"
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The end of the federal EV tax credit spelled bad news for many automakers, and yet some persisted. In fact, some are doing quite well. Take a look at the electric truck market, for example, where the EV startup Harbinger reports practically doubling its sales quarter over quarter after the tax credit ended on September 30. Wait\u2026what?<\/p>\n

Electric Truck Sales Jump After Tax Credit Ends<\/h3>\n

To be clear, Harbinger is a relatively young startup with plenty of room to grow its sales, tax credit or not. The company launched in California in 2021 and began producing EVs at scale<\/a> only last April.<\/p>\n

Still, the company earned a running start with backing from the EV-curious RV manufacturer<\/a> THOR Industries (parent company of Airstream, among others) and the leading truck dealer ETHERO Truck + Energy, among others attracted by Harbinger\u2019s fully customizable, all-electric stripped chassis. That\u2019s a significant opening in the medium-duty market segment, where gas and diesel retrofits are common.<\/p>\n

Harbinger ran the numbers for its 2025 sales in an email to CleanTechnica<\/em> earlier this week, affirming that it sold \u201croughly twice as many EVs in Q4 compared to Q3, post-IRA.\u201d<\/p>\n

Harbinger also outran the competition in Class 4-6 compared to 2024 sale. \u201cHarbinger sold nearly twice as many EVs in 2025 as new vehicles were registered across the entire U.S. Class 4\u20136 EV market in 2024,\u201d the company added, with Class 4-6 referring to medium duty vehicles.<\/p>\n

If the comparison to 2024 sounds out of whack, it\u2019s not, according to data compiled by the International Council on Clean Transportation. In a report on US sales posted in December of 2024, ICCT noted that 1,381 new heavy-duty electric trucks and other Class 8 zero emission vehicles were registered in the US in the first half of the year, while only 165 medium-duty Class 4-6 zero emission trucks<\/a> were registered in the same period.<\/p>\n

The ICCT report also provides some insight into Harbinger\u2019s decision to focus on the Class 4-6 market. ICCT notes that medium-duty EV sales in the US grew from 2022 to 2024 without an assist from industry leader Tesla, which did not, and still does not, manufacture Class 4-6 electric trucks.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe medium-duty truck market shows a high degree of fragmentation in terms of manufacturer market share,\u201d ICCT emphasized, by way of saying that no single automaker dominated the Class 4-6 electric truck market in 2024.<\/p>\n

Harbinger also points to data compiled by S&P Global showing that just 460 Class 4-6 EVs were registered in the US for all of 2024. \u201cIn 2025, Harbinger sold more commercial medium-duty EVs than all competitors combined,\u201d the company added.<\/p>\n

FedEx Grows Its Electric Truck Fleet<\/h3>\n

Harbinger attributes a good deal of last year\u2019s success to FedEx. \u201cIn 2025, Harbinger sold 733 commercial EVs (including its order from FedEx), representing $87M in vehicle sales (this is an invoiced amount based on issued purchase orders, not pre-orders or reservations),\u201d Harbinger explained by email to CleanTechnica.<\/em><\/p>\n

The question is whether or not the momentum will carry into 2026. Part of the answer is FedEx, which is determined to electrify its entire pickup and delivery fleet<\/a> by 2040. In addition to ordering 53 Harbinger class 5 and 6 stripped chassis EVs last year, Fed-Ex co-led a $160 million round of Series C funding for Harbinger. The other co-leaders were Capricorn\u2019s Technology Impact Fund and THOR Industries.<\/p>\n

Among other participants, Harbinger lists returning investor Ridgeline (also backed by FedEx), along with other returnees including Tiger Global, Volkswagen\u2019s US venture capital branch Leitmotif, and additional venture capital firms including Maniv Mobility, Schematic Ventures, Overture Climate, Ironspring Ventures, ArcTern Ventures, Litquidity Ventures, and The Coca-Cola System Sustainability Fund,.<\/p>\n

In a press statement announcing the Series C haul on November 12, Harbinger cited Paul Melander, FedEx SVP of Safety and Transportation, who said, \u201cthis trifecta of performance, price, and operational resilience is what we need to be able to continue to scale.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWe look forward to bringing these Class 5 and 6 units into our fleet and seeing electric medium-duty trucking options\u2014like what Harbinger is offering\u2014become more accessible in the marketplace for commercial fleets of all sizes,\u201d FedEx emphasized.<\/p>\n

Trump Has Lost The War On EVs, Bigyly<\/h3>\n

If that sounds like FedEx was not paying any attention to the anti-EV agenda of US President Donald Trump, that is correct. Trump sailed back into office last year and rallied the Republican majority in Congress to kill the well-known $7,500 federal tax credit for new zero emission cars. The credit expired prematurely on September 30 under the provisions of the July 2025 \u201cOBBBA\u201d tax bill.<\/p>\n

As expected, EV sales in the US took a nosedive after September 30, with Harbinger being among the few outliers. However, outliers there were, and this year a fresh wave of EV discounts<\/a> is helping to keep the electrification movement afloat. In addition, while some leading automakers hit the brakes on their 2026 EV plans, other have introduced new models<\/a> to help stimulate buyer interest.<\/p>\n

Perhaps lesser known, OBBBA also snuffed out the tax credit for electric trucks and other commercial vehicles, which ranged up to $40,000<\/a> depending on the vehicle.<\/p>\n

Ouch! Nevertheless, Harbinger was able to make a strong economic and performance case for Class 4-6 electric trucks last year, months before the Commander-in-Chief launched an unprovoked war on Iran on February 28.\u00a0Now that Trump has single-handedly sent the cost of fuel<\/a> through the roof, the case for electric trucks of all classes is stronger than ever.<\/p>\n

\u201cTypical fuel consumption in a walk in van is about 6-8 mpg of gas or 7-9 mpg of diesel,\u201d Harbinger CEO and co-founder John Henry Harris reminded everyone in a LinkedIn post earlier this week.<\/p>\n

\u201cAt 60 miles a day (a typical parcel delivery route, the sort that many of Harbinger\u2019s ISP customers run every day for fleets like FedEx), the math is pretty wild,\u201d Harris continued. He ran the numbers for the leading electric truck market California, where both conventional fuel and electricity costs run high:<\/p>\n

\u2014 60 miles \/ 8mpg of diesel = 7.5 gallons<\/em>
\u2014 7.5 gallons * 52 weeks\/year * 6 days per week = 2,340 gallons a year<\/em>
\u2014 2,340 gallons * $7.746\/gallon of diesel in CA as of 4\/8\/26 = $18,125 (annual fuel cost)<\/em><\/p>\n

\u201cA Harbinger truck running the same route typically consumes about 0.9 kWh\/mile,\u201d Harris continued, while emphasizing that the high cost of electricity in some regions does not change the outcome. Here\u2019s the calculation for California fleets:<\/p>\n

\u2014 60 miles * 52 weeks\/year * 6 days per week * 0.9 kWh\/mile = 16,848 kWh<\/em>
\u2014 Average commercial electricity price in CA: $0.2313\/kWh, 69% (!) higher than the national average.<\/em>
\u2014 16,848 kWh * $0.2313\/kWh = $3,897<\/em><\/p>\n

\u201c$18,125 \u2013 $3,897 = $14,228,\u201d Harris concludes.<\/p>\n

\u201cAnd that\u2019s just the fuel savings, with no credit for maintenance savings,\u201d he emphasizes. \u201cAt $14,228 a year in fuel savings<\/a>, you\u2019d have to wonder why anyone is still buying diesel trucks?\u201d<\/p>\n

Harris also notes that the savings keeps adding up for longer routes. According to his calculations, a 75-mile route saves $17,785 per year in fuel, and a 100-mile route saves $23,718.<\/p>\n

Readers, if you have numbers of your own, drop a note in the comment thread.<\/p>\n

Photo (screenshot): The California-based electric truck startup Harbinger has opened up new opportunities for fleet electrification<\/a> in the medium-duty Class 4-6 vehicle market (screenshot via YouTube, courtesy of Harbinger).<\/em><\/p>\n

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