In May, CCTV-13's News Live Room focused its cameras on China's first hundred-unit-class pure electric unmanned mining truck fleet put into operation. A single battery swap takes less than 6 minutes, a full charge takes at most 1 hour, and at full charge the truck can haul 90 tons of cargo for about 60 kilometers. The news sparked widespread discussion at the time, and new energy mining trucks became the focus of attention.

In fact, with the continued push of the "dual carbon" policy and the deepening of decarbonization measures in the mining industry, new energy mining trucks have long become a focal track in the construction machinery industry. In the past two years, new energy mining truck volumes have gradually ramped up; according to statistics, China's new energy mining truck sales exceeded 1,500 units in 2023. Professional institutions predict that sales of new energy mining trucks will exceed 2,000 units in 2025. As the new energy mining truck market enters a period of rapid growth, a host of leading construction machinery enterprises have entered the fray, hoping to seize a first-mover advantage.

So which company is currently leading the new energy mining truck track?

Leading enterprises compete head-to-head

1 XCMG

The protagonist of the CCTV news mentioned above is XCMG. On May 15, XCMG Group officially delivered the first batch of 100 ZNK95 pure electric unmanned mining trucks to Huaneng Yimin Open-Pit Coal Mine, marking the full commercial operation of the world's first hundred-unit-class unmanned electric mining truck fleet—the "Huaneng Ruichi" intelligent transport system.

As early as 2019, in the face of the transformation of the global energy structure and the trend toward green environmental protection, XCMG Group keenly captured the development trend of new energy mining trucks and began to enter the field. Thanks to forward-looking planning and years of technological accumulation, XCMG's new energy mining trucks today have established a complete product pedigree led by pure electric products, with hydrogen fuel and hybrid power advancing in parallel. It has developed and launched more than ten new energy mining equipment products, holds over a hundred invention patents and core technologies, and fully covers and meets a variety of subdivided mining application scenarios. Its battery-swap products have been put into application in multiple domestic mining areas, such as Zijin Mining's Shanghang Gold-Copper Mine and Huaneng Group's Yimin Open-Pit Coal Mine.

2 SANY

In 2019, SANY began to venture into the pure electric mining truck field. At present, SANY Heavy Equipment's pure electric mining truck product layout has extended from 60 tons to 300 tons, covering the full range of mining truck models, including hybrid, range-extended, and pure electric types.

Entering 2025, SANY's new energy mining trucks have seen frequent batch delivery developments, and repeated batch deliveries fully reflect customer trust.

In February, SANY Heavy Equipment successfully delivered 17 SKT90E pure electric wide-body dump trucks in Dangyang, Hubei. This batch of vehicles will serve limestone transport at local sand and aggregate mines, supporting green mine operations with the advantages of high efficiency, intelligence, and environmental protection.

In March, SANY Heavy Equipment successfully held the SKT90E pure electric wide-body dump truck delivery ceremony in Emeishan City, Sichuan Province. Twenty brand-new wide-body dump trucks officially entered the local sand and aggregate transport project. This batch of equipment will be fully put into heavy-load transport in the mining area, helping the customer achieve green and efficient operations.

In April, the Xinjiang Sandaoling mining area once again reached cooperation with SANY Heavy Equipment, placing a repeat batch order for 17 SKT105E electric wide-body trucks! The mining area has cumulatively operated more than 80 vehicles.

3 Zoomlion

In recent years, in the field of mining machinery, Zoomlion has focused on industry transformation and customer needs, continuously deepened its "large-scale, green, and unmanned" technologies, innovated full life-cycle management services, created value for customers, and contributed to Chinese manufacturing's advance into the global market.

The ZTE520, the world's largest-tonnage hybrid electric drive mining dump truck with a payload of 300 tons, adopts high-power variable-frequency AC traction control technology derived from China's high-speed rail. It offers fast speed adjustment and high precision, with performance improved by 16%, transport efficiency increased by 10%, and energy consumption reduced by 15%. At the same time, all core components are domestically produced, ensuring supply chain security and delivery efficiency.

The ZT160HEV mining wide-body dump truck with a payload of one hundred tons has been widely praised by customers since its launch. The vehicle innovatively adopts engine direct-drive and dual-motor parallel drive technology, with continuous power output without interruption, high safety, and good smoothness. It is equipped with the self-developed ZM-i super hybrid energy management system, which can minimize energy loss.

The ZT118EV pure electric mining wide-body dump truck, specially developed for heavy-load downhill sand and aggregate and metal mines, has a payload of 80 tons. It adopts a dual-motor drive structure, with energy recovery efficiency as high as 90%. One hour of charging supports a full day of operation, and it enables remote monitoring and diagnosis of the three-electric system and whole-vehicle faults, ensuring operational efficiency.

In addition, not only OEMs but also enterprises such as Weichai Power and CATL are facing increasingly fierce competition in mining power.

4 Weichai Power

On May 9, the Weichai Mining Power Second-Generation New Product Launch Conference, themed "Breaking Barriers · Reshaping," was held in Ordos, Inner Mongolia. Weichai's second-generation mining power new products were unveiled in a concentrated manner, demonstrating Weichai's deep accumulation and forward-looking layout in the field of construction machinery power.

At this launch conference, in addition to launching new diesel engine series, Weichai Power also released range-extender dedicated engines such as the WP17T methanol, WP16NG, and WP14T. These products are Weichai's solutions for smart green mines, integrating Weichai's advanced diesel engine technology with efficient electric drive technology. At the same time, they demonstrate strong fuel flexibility and economy, meet the needs of different application scenarios, and promote the green transformation of mining power.

It is worth mentioning that Weichai's methanol mining engine was initiated in 2015. After ten years of development, it broke through more than ten industry challenges, including low-temperature starting, corrosion, oil emulsification, and early combustion knock, before achieving today's WP17T methanol dedicated engine.

5 CATL

On November 25, 2024, CATL held a new product launch conference in Shanghai and announced the launch of the "Tianxing Heavy Truck Battery." CATL's Tianxing series batteries cover four versions. Among them, the high-strength version, as a battery dedicated to construction machinery, can still maintain high safety after 500,000 kilometers of driving despite many adverse factors such as heavy-load transport, rugged roads, pervasive dust, and variable humidity. Its durability is four times that of the industry's 100,000-kilometer level, strongly guaranteeing the safe operation of equipment.

Its original "Taishan Architecture" increases the battery's volume utilization rate by 40%, which means more electricity can be accommodated within the limited body space of a mining truck. It features an IP68 waterproof rating and an "armor coating" that isolates electrochemical corrosion, keeping the battery in good condition even under harsh working conditions.

As for the efforts of these two enterprises in mining power, this can be seen not only as a reflection of their strategic vision but also as a positive response to the national green development strategy. With the continuous advancement of technology and growing market demand, the electrification of construction machinery will become a future development trend, and these two enterprises have undoubtedly already taken the lead in the industry.

The dilemmas of new energy mining trucks

Although new energy mining trucks have broad development prospects, the industry still needs to face dilemmas such as incomplete charging facility layouts, high initial purchase costs, and severe homogenization. Against this backdrop, OEMs should make efforts in multiple areas such as industrial chain collaboration, technology research and development, and policy support, actively explore ways to break the deadlock, and seek strategies for breakthrough. 

1 Incomplete charging facility layout

Lagging mining power infrastructure is the primary challenge. Some mining areas are located in remote regions with insufficient grid coverage, making it difficult to meet the rapid energy replenishment needs of new energy mining trucks. The construction of charging facilities is costly and takes a long time; the power and number of charging piles are insufficient; and the construction of battery swap stations also requires substantial upfront investment. This limits the operation of new energy mining trucks in some mining areas.

2 High initial purchase cost

The higher initial purchase cost of new energy mining trucks compared with fuel vehicles is also an important factor restricting their promotion. The high cost of batteries, plus research and development and technological investment, generally makes their selling prices higher than those of traditional fuel mining trucks, putting considerable investment pressure on mining enterprises with tight funds. Although in terms of long-term operating costs, new energy mining trucks have low energy consumption and maintenance costs and obvious advantages, the high short-term purchase cost still leaves many enterprises hesitant in decision-making.

3 Severe homogenization

As more and more enterprises enter the new energy mining truck track, some imitate one another in performance, appearance, and even marketing methods, making homogenization increasingly severe. Well-known brands still have some competitiveness, but new-force brands without brand effect inevitably become involved in brutal price wars, leaving their market prospects less than optimistic.

With the continued advancement of the "dual carbon" goals, environmental standards will become increasingly strict, and green mine construction will become an inevitable trend. As key equipment for green transport, new energy mining trucks will see continuously growing market demand in the future. Although there are certain dilemmas in the current development of new energy mining trucks, we believe that with the joint efforts of all parties, all difficulties and challenges will be gradually overcome. Next, the new energy mining truck track is bound to usher in a true golden period of development!