U.S. zero-emission truck and bus registrations fell sharply in the first quarter of 2026, underscoring the uneven pace of fleet electrification as vehicle orders, infrastructure readiness, incentives, and duty-cycle fit continue to shape deployment timelines.
The International Council on Clean Transportation reported that zero-emission medium- and heavy-duty vehicle registrations declined 43.6% from the previous quarter. ICCT counted 15,338 zero-emission vehicles out of 353,173 total medium- and heavy-duty vehicle registrations in the U.S. during the first three months of 2026.
The first-quarter data shows that zero-emission adoption remains highly dependent on vehicle segment. Heavy-duty truck registrations remained limited, with ICCT reporting 132 zero-emission heavy-duty trucks in Q1, down 4.3% from the previous quarter and 59.5% from Q1 2025. Zero-emission heavy-duty trucks represented 0.25% of all heavy-duty truck registrations for the quarter.
That segment-level detail matters for fleets because the transition is not moving at the same speed across all vehicle types. Depot-based operations, predictable routes, return-to-base duty cycles, and vehicles with shorter daily mileage remain better positioned for near-term electrification than applications that require longer range, more flexible routing, heavier payloads, or charging access away from base.
The ICCT data also points to differences by geography and manufacturer. Indiana recorded the highest number of zero-emission heavy-duty truck registrations in Q1, followed by California, Georgia, Wisconsin, and New York. Orange EV led zero-emission heavy-duty truck manufacturers during the quarter, followed by Daimler, PACCAR, Battle Motors, and Volvo.
The broader medium- and heavy-duty market also showed signs of pressure. ICCT noted that overall heavy-duty truck registrations declined to 51,776 in Q1, down from 56,154 in Q4 2025. At the same time, the organization said major medium- and heavy-duty manufacturers recorded lower revenues and vehicle deliveries in Q1 compared with the prior year, although order intake increased sharply during the quarter.
