CNBC's The China Connection newsletter: Tackling EV trucks after success with cars

Chinese-made trucks are waiting to be loaded onto ships for export at Yantai Port in Shandong Province, China on April 20, 2026. Cfoto | Future Publishing | Getty Images Hi, this is Evelyn, writing to you from Beijing. Welcome to the latest edition of The China Connection — a snapshot of what I'm seeing and hearing from local businesses. China isn't resting on its laurels after its success in electric cars. From new policy goals to exports, what's about to speed things up? The big story China plans to repeat its electric car success story — this time with trucks. As shipping and oil costs surged this year, an overseas buyer of around 880 electric trucks pressed Chinese manufacturer Sany to ship all of them by the end of June, according to Michael Yue, general manager of overseas markets for Sany Heavy Industry's electric truck division. Before the Iran war, overseas adoption of electric trucks was expected to take three to five years, Yue told me last week. "But now, they need it immediately." Our conversation came just days after China's Ministry of Transport called for new energy heavy trucks to account for 40% of new truck sales by 2030 . More than 80% of trucks used on shorter routes around Beijing should be electric, the policy added. The targets echo China's push more than a decade ago to develop new energy passenger cars , a category that includes battery-powered and hybrid models. The goal was for NEVs to account for 20% of new passenger car sales by 2025 . …