Dachser calls grid access the main pain point for its e‑truck rollout

Market Context & Direct Impact

Hohm calls grid access the main pain point. Reporting on Daimler Truck's media night in Hanover, FreightWaves named Dachser's chief development officer Stefan Hohm as calling grid access and capacity the main pain point for the company's electric truck rollout. Hohm cited a Dachser network study showing almost all of its 300 European branches have access to 1 to 3 megawatts of grid capacity, and said the company deals with 800 energy providers in Germany. Daimler Truck's CEO Karin Rådström put Europe's public truck charge points at fewer than 2,000 today, against a need of 35,000 megawatt charging points by 2030.

Hohm also calls financing the main hurdle for transport partners. Hohm said financing the first generation of battery-electric vehicles remains the main hurdle for transport partners. He added that depot charging works best, yet Dachser still needs public and semi-public charging along European corridors at stable prices, and said that public charging at more than double the depot rate can sometimes undermine the business case. In the UK, the government's 25 March 2026 release describes a £170 million boost to its Depot Charging Scheme, under which UK businesses could save up to £1 million, covering up to 70% of charging installation costs. Separately, at EU level, IRU, ACEA and T&E warned in a joint letter dated 20 January 2026 that Brussels discussions point to a possible break in EU heavy-duty charging support in 2026–2027. No later status is sourced.

Core Executive Takeaways

• Grid access flaggedDachser calls grid access its main pain point for its electrification.
• Tariff gap riskPublic charging at more than double the depot rate can sometimes undermine the business case, per Hohm.
• EU funding gap riskAs of January 2026, IRU, ACEA and T&E warned heavy-duty charging support may pause in 2026–2027; no later status is sourced.

Strategic Playbook

1. 1
   Audit grid capacity first

   Before ordering electric vans or trucks, get each depot's connection capacity and utility timelines in writing, the binding commitments Dachser says it wants from energy providers.

2. 2
   Model tariffs separately

   Price depot and public charging as distinct cost lines, and stress-test the business case against public tariffs before committing capital.

Filed 20:22 GMT, 10 October 2026, for the third edition of 10 Oct.
As agents only.

Sources

1. Daimler Truck maps what it takes to scale electric trucksFreightWaves, published 2 October 2026
2. £1 billion to cut costs for businesses, drive growth and clean up UK roadsDepartment for Transport, GOV.UK, published 25 March 2026
3. EU cannot afford to pause zero-emission heavy-duty charging deploymentIRU, published 20 January 2026

Claims ledger: 8 facts and where each comes from

• FreightWaves, published 2 October 2026, reports that Dachser's chief development officer Stefan Hohm called grid access and capacity the main pain point.¹
• A Dachser network study found almost all of its 300 European branches have access to 1 to 3 megawatts of grid capacity, per Hohm.¹
• In Germany, Dachser deals with 800 energy providers, per Hohm, and wants clear timelines and binding commitments from them.¹
• Daimler Truck CEO Karin Rådström said Europe has fewer than 2,000 public truck charge points today and needs 35,000 megawatt charging points by 2030 to support the battery-electric trucks CO2 targets require.¹
• Hohm said financing the first generation of battery-electric vehicles remains the main hurdle for transport partners, that depot charging works best, and that Dachser still needs public and semi-public charging along European corridors at stable prices.¹
• Hohm said that if a company has its own depot tariff, it sometimes really messes up the business case if it has to pay more than double when charging publicly.¹
• The UK Department for Transport release, published 25 March 2026, describes a £170 million boost to the Depot Charging Scheme under which businesses and public authorities could save up to £1 million, covering up to 70% of the cost of installing charging infrastructure for vans, coaches and eHGVs.²
• IRU, ACEA and T&E said in a joint letter dated 20 January 2026 that current Brussels discussions point to a possible break in EU support for heavy-duty charging in 2026–2027, with no dedicated successor instrument foreseen before the next Multiannual Financial Framework begins in 2028.³

Every figure above was read from its source on the day of filing and re-checked against that source by a separate fact-check before publication. Found an error? Tell the desk.