Finding
Refuse trucks are the strongest municipal case for batteries: regenerative braking recovers energy at every stop, an electric packer draws power only while it lifts, and the truck returns to the same depot every night
Mack's LR Electric carries 376 kWh, two electric motors and an ePTO for rear-, side- and front-loader bodies, and runs in New York City's Department of Sanitation fleet among others; Peterbilt's 520EV and Volvo's FE Electric follow the same layout. Mercedes-Benz's low-entry eEconic, built on the eActros battery system, is Europe's reference electric refuse chassis.
A residential route covers well under 150 km but stops hundreds of times. A diesel truck idles through every lift to drive the packer and wastes its braking energy as heat; an electric truck recovers part of that energy at each stop and runs the packer from its own motor only during the cycle. Crews and residents notice the noise first: an electric truck can start collecting before 7 a.m. in streets with noise limits. The cost is weight - a 300-400 kWh battery adds several tons to a truck that runs near axle limits - and price, roughly double a diesel truck before grants.
Europe moved first because its refuse market already used low-entry cabs from Mercedes-Benz (Econic), Dennis Eagle (Elite) and Volvo and Renault, which became the eEconic, eCollect, FE Electric and E-Tech D Wide, and because the Clean Vehicles Directive counts refuse trucks in public procurement. Body builders - Faun, Geesink, Dennis Eagle's Olympus, Heil, McNeilus, Wayne and Labrie - adapted packers to ePTO. In the US, Mack and Peterbilt sell most electric refuse chassis; McNeilus (Oshkosh) has piloted its own Volterra electric side-loader, BYD's Lancaster-built 8R and Battle Motors' LET2 have uncertain status, and Lion's refuse truck ended with Lion's exit from trucks.
China's city sanitation bureaus are the largest buyers. Yutong, Infore Environment (the former Zoomlion Environmental) and Fulongma sell electric compression refuse trucks, kitchen-waste collectors and washer-sweepers, mostly on LFP batteries and GB/T charging, and many cities now require new sanitation vehicles to be new-energy. Software is the next layer: route-optimization and lift-counting telematics (Mack's GuardDog Connect, Volvo Connect) let fleets assign electric trucks to the routes whose energy they can cover.
Refuse trucks
Electric refuse trucks
Battery-electric only; in production first.
| Model | Country | Class | Battery kWh | Charging | Bodies and configurations | Software | Use | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| XD Electric (DAF) | Netherlands | Class 8 (N3) | CCS2 DC at the depot | Refuse, distribution and municipal bodies; ePTO | DAF Connect | European collection | in production | |
| eCollect (Dennis Eagle) | UK | Class 8 (N3) | CCS2 DC at the depot | Low-entry cab; Olympus body; US versions via Dennis Eagle Inc. | Telematics | UK and US collection (Terberg group) | in production | |
| Electric refuse truck (Fulongma) | China | (N3) | GB/T DC plug-in | Compression and hook-lift bodies | Chinese city sanitation | in production | ||
| Electric compression refuse truck (Infore Environment) | China | (N3) | GB/T DC plug-in | Compression and kitchen-waste bodies | Chinese city sanitation (former Zoomlion Environmental) | in production | ||
| LR Electric (Mack) | US | Class 8 (N3) | 376 | CCS1 DC at the depot | Rear-, side- and front-loader and roll-off bodies; two motors; ePTO for body hydraulics | Mack Connect; GuardDog Connect remote diagnostics | Residential and commercial collection (DSNY, Republic Services and others) | in production |
| eEconic (Mercedes-Benz) | Germany | Class 8 (N3) | 336 | CCS2 DC at the depot | Low-entry cab; refuse, sweeper and road-maintenance bodies; ePTO | Fleetboard telematics | European residential collection | in production |
| 520EV (Peterbilt) | US | Class 8 (N3) | CCS1 DC at the depot | Rear-, side- and front-loader and roll-off bodies; ePTO | SmartLINQ telematics | Residential and commercial collection | in production | |
| E-Tech D Wide (Renault Trucks) | France | Class 8 (N3) | CCS2 DC at the depot | Refuse and urban distribution bodies; ePTO | Optifleet | French and European collection | in production | |
| L-series Electric (refuse) (Scania) | Sweden | Class 8 (N3) | CCS2 DC at the depot | Low-entry cab; refuse bodies | Scania Fleet Management | European collection | in production | |
| FE Electric (Volvo Trucks) | Sweden | Class 8 (N3) | CCS2 DC at the depot | Rear-, side- and front-loader and roll-off bodies; also hook-lift bodies; ePTO | Volvo Connect | European residential collection | in production | |
| Electric compression refuse truck (18 t) (Yutong) | China | (N3) | GB/T DC plug-in | Compression, side-loading and kitchen-waste bodies | Chinese city sanitation fleets | in production | ||
| Volterra ZSL (McNeilus (Oshkosh)) | US | Class 8 (N3) | CCS1 DC at the depot | Electric side-loader on Oshkosh chassis | Oshkosh connected fleet | US residential collection (Waste Management trials) | pilot | |
| LET2 Electric (Battle Motors) | US | Class 8 (N3) | CCS1 DC at the depot | Low-entry cab-forward refuse chassis | US collection | unconfirmed | ||
| 8R (BYD) | China | Class 8 (N3) | CCS1 DC at the depot | Refuse chassis built in Lancaster, California | US collection (Seattle, Palo Alto pilots) | unconfirmed | ||
| Lion8 Refuse (Lion Electric) | Canada | Class 8 (N3) | CCS1 DC at the depot | Refuse chassis | US and Canadian collection; trucks dropped after 2025 relaunch | discontinued |
Body types
Refuse body types and their electric versions
| Body | Use | Electric examples |
|---|---|---|
| Rear loader | Residential and mixed collection; manual or cart tippers | Mack LR Electric, Mercedes eEconic, Dennis Eagle eCollect |
| Automated side loader | Single-operator residential routes | Mack LR Electric, Peterbilt 520EV, McNeilus Volterra ZSL |
| Front loader | Commercial dumpsters | Mack LR Electric, Peterbilt 520EV |
| Roll-off and hook-lift | Construction and recycling containers | Volvo FE Electric, Volvo FMX Electric |
| Kitchen-waste collector | Food waste (China) | Yutong, Infore Environment, Fulongma |
Regions
Electric refuse trucks by region
| Region | Cab and chassis | Buyer | Driver |
|---|---|---|---|
| Europe | Low-entry cabs: eEconic, eCollect, FE Electric, E-Tech D Wide, XD Electric | Municipal and private contractors via public tenders | Clean Vehicles Directive; city low-emission zones |
| US | Cab-forward Class 8: Mack LR Electric, Peterbilt 520EV | Cities (New York, Raleigh) and haulers (Republic Services, Waste Management) | City climate plans; grants |
| China | Domestic sanitation chassis on LFP | City sanitation bureaus | New-energy sanitation vehicle targets |
Sources
Sources and scope
- Scope
- Electric Garbage Trucks
- Sources
- Maker specifications (Mack Trucks, Peterbilt, Mercedes-Benz Trucks, Volvo Trucks, Dennis Eagle, DAF, Renault Trucks, Yutong); Work Truck (Battle Motors); Oct 2026
- Updated
- October 2026