Daimler Trucks North America (DTNA) is dialing back its near-term commitment to battery-electric and hydrogen fuel cell trucks, signaling a strategic shift that puts diesel powertrains back at the center of its North American operations. The move was formally outlined during Daimler Truck’s Capital Market Day on July 8, 2025, where executives unveiled the company’s updated “Stronger 2030” strategy.
While the company maintains a long-term vision for zero-emission technologies, the revised strategy emphasizes aligning transformation efforts with market realities, specifically infrastructure readiness, regulatory maturity, and customer adoption rates. Daimler Truck will selectively pace its investments in battery-electric and hydrogen vehicles and concentrate resources on proven combustion-based technologies, especially in core markets like the U.S.
While the company is not abandoning zero-emission vehicles, it made clear that diesel will play a central role in its powertrain roadmap for the foreseeable future. Through a modular platform approach, Daimler Truck will continue to invest in both combustion and electric technologies, but with the flexibility to scale them based on regional conditions and fleet readiness. This practical balance was cited as a core component of the “Stronger 2030” vision.
The updated strategy also includes a major cost-cutting campaign and a €2 billion share buyback program, reinforcing the company’s emphasis on profitability and capital discipline. Company leaders positioned these measures as necessary to maintain flexibility as the industry transitions over a longer timeline than originally projected.
Daimler Truck’s latest strategy acknowledges that the clean truck transition could take longer than expected and that diesel still has an important role to play in the commercial trucking industry.
