Daimler Truck chief says sector's existence in Europe is under threat
12.07.2026
Daimler Truck chief executive Karin Rådström says the existence of Europe's commercial vehicle industry is at risk, warning that unchanged CO2 rules would jeopardize competitiveness.
"If the CO2 regulation remains unchanged, Europe is putting the competitiveness of its commercial vehicle industry at risk," Rådström told dpa in Berlin in an interview published on Sunday. She said she did not believe policymakers had understood the urgency.
Rådström is also chairwoman of the commercial vehicle committee of the European Automobile Manufacturers' Association (ACEA).
To meet the European Union's climate targets CO2 emissions for new heavy commercial vehicles must fall by 43% by 2030 compared with 2019.
According to the European Commission, heavy commercial vehicles account for more than 25% of road transport greenhouse gas emissions in the EU and more than 6% of total greenhouse gas emissions.
Daimler Truck chief sees "big challenge"
To achieve savings of 43%, Rådström calculates that around 35% of all newly registered lorries in Europe in 2030 would have to be battery-electric or hydrogen-powered.
The challenge, she said, is that in 2025 just 2% of all heavy lorries in Europe were electric. Getting from 2% in 2025 to 35% in 2030 would be "a really big challenge."
Daimler Truck would have to pay around €120 million ($137 million) for every percentage point it misses. "For the European commercial vehicle industry, that would therefore have existential consequences," she said.
"If we miss the targets by, for example, 10 percentage points, we will practically no longer make any money at all from the Mercedes-Benz Trucks segment."
By comparison, the segment posted an operating result - earnings before interest and taxes (EBIT) - of €698 million in 2025. In 2024, Mercedes-Benz Trucks recorded an EBIT of €922 million. Revenue was roughly €20 billion in both years.
Mercedes-Benz Trucks operates under the Mercedes-Benz brand in Europe, Asia, Africa and Latin America.
What's hurting e-lorry growth
"The biggest problem remains infrastructure and charging," Rådström said. Even those who want to switch to e-mobility are unsure whether they will be able to charge their vehicles along their routes in future, said the head of the DAX-listed group based in Leinfelden-Echterdingen near Stuttgart.
Another challenge is achieving cost parity to make electric lorries competitive with combustion engines. That depends on electricity and diesel prices.
"Diesel is relatively not an expensive energy source," Rådström said. Her customers run their businesses with very small profit margins. "They cannot afford expensive experiments," said the Swedish-born manager.
In most cases, diesel still makes sense for customers.
What Daimler Truck wants
"We are calling for a review of the CO2 regulation. This has to be a reality check," Rådström said. Among other things, the regulation must be tied to the ramp-up of infrastructure, which must be expanded more quickly.
"It is still too early to say that we need to change the targets," Rådström said. But given the slow build-out of infrastructure and the lack of willingness among key EU member states to implement CO2 differentiation in lorry tolls, it is clearly foreseeable that the sector needs more time to reach the targets set for 2030.
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