CV World’s monthly series gives the first read on 2026: 16,100 new-energy heavy trucks sold in January, a 33.18% share of the heavy-truck market. The comparison that matters is not December 2025 (45,300 units, 53.89% — inflated by incentive pull-forward) but January 2025, when penetration stood at 21.02% and volumes at 7,085 units. Year-on-year, volumes more than doubled.

The hangover question dominated January commentary: had December’s spike borrowed 2026’s demand? The January answer: partially, but the floor rose. A 33% share in a traditionally slow month suggests the structural drivers — LFP price parity, swap-network coverage, diesel-pricing policy — are doing the work, not the calendar. Industry forecasts at the time pencilled 35–45% penetration for full-year 2026.

For European readers, the January figure was the first monthly proof that China’s electrification had crossed from policy event to market structure — the month after which ‘is it real?’ stopped being the right question and ‘what does it cost us?’ became one. Our monthly China tracking begins here.