Quick answer: Charging an electric truck typically costs $18 to $60 for a full 282 to 600 kWh pack, or $0.03 to $0.12 per km, at a commercial tariff of $0.05 to $0.18 per kWh. That is 60 to 75 percent cheaper than a diesel truck at $0.25 to $0.45 per km.
The simplest way to price a charge is pack size times your tariff. A light urban KT5M electric cargo truck with a 282 kWh pack costs $14 to $51 for a full charge, while a 600 kWh long-haul tractor costs $30 to $108. Most fleet depots negotiate a commercial rate near $0.12 per kWh, so a 350 kWh mid-size truck lands at about $42 per full charge. The spread exists because tariffs vary from $0.05 per kWh on Nigerian off-peak industrial supply to $0.18 per kWh on South African daytime commercial rates, and public charger networks add another $0.10 to $0.20 per kWh on top.
The table below shows worked full-charge costs at three representative tariffs so procurement teams can model their own depot.
| Pack size | At $0.05/kWh | At $0.12/kWh | At $0.18/kWh |
|---|---|---|---|
| 282 kWh (KT5M) | $14 | $34 | $51 |
| 350 kWh (KTA1) | $18 | $42 | $63 |
| 600 kWh (TE9L) | $30 | $72 | $108 |
Per-km cost depends on consumption and tariff. A 282 to 424 kWh EV truck drawing 1.2 to 1.8 kWh per km costs $0.06 to $0.18 per km at $0.05 to $0.12 per kWh, against $0.25 to $0.45 per km for a diesel truck burning 1.0 to 1.4 L per km at $0.9 to $1.4 per litre. The crossover is clear: even at the most expensive grid tariff, electric stays under diesel on energy alone, before you count the 35 percent lower maintenance of an EV powertrain.
For a distribution fleet running 200 km a day, the KT5M at 1.5 kWh per km and $0.12 per kWh costs $36 per day in electricity versus $70 to $90 in diesel, a $1.2 million saving per 30-truck fleet over five years.
Most commercial tariffs split into peak, standard and off-peak bands, and the off-peak window of 22:00 to 06:00 is where electric trucks should charge. Booking a demand-charge managed supply and shifting bulk charging to off-peak can cut the effective rate from $0.18 to $0.08 per kWh. Fleets should also ask the utility for an EV or green tariff, which several African and Middle Eastern grids now offer at a 10 to 20 percent discount in exchange for managed load.
For a single owner-operator, a 7 to 22 kW wallbox at $0.10 per kWh is enough overnight, but a fleet needs 60 to 240 kW DC units. Solar plus battery is where the real saving appears: a 100 kW array with 200 kWh storage offsets 30 to 50 percent of a 10-truck depot's daytime top-up and can cut the annual bill by $15,000 to $30,000. The payback on the solar system is typically 4 to 6 years, after which the energy is nearly free for the life of the panels.
Battery swapping trades a depleted pack for a charged one in 5 to 6 minutes, eliminating the 45 to 90 minute charge wait for terminal tractors, port shuttles and quarry trucks that run 24-hour shifts. The TE46 terminal tractor swaps in 6 minutes, so a Mombasa drayage fleet keeps moving without a charger queue. Swapping shifts the cost from on-truck charging time to a centralised swap station that charges packs slowly off-peak, often at the cheapest tariff, which can lower per-kWh cost by another 15 to 25 percent.
Our Nigeria electric truck market page models landed cost, tariffs and the 2026 incentive window for fleets entering the market. Shaanxi Fenghan Trading Co., Ltd, the authorized Dongfeng EV exporter, supplies every model with the 8-year or 4,500-cycle battery warranty and a charging design service that sizes your depot, negotiates the utility connection and trains your team. Start with a 90-day pilot measuring kWh per km and true cost per km before scaling, so the business case rests on your own numbers rather than estimates.
Beyond energy, fleets should budget three items: the depot connection upgrade, typically $5,000 to $25,000 for a 200 to 700 kW supply; the charger hardware, $15,000 to $60,000 per 120 to 240 kW DC unit; and a load-management controller, $2,000 to $5,000, that caps demand charges. These are one-time capital items amortised over the truck life, and they are far smaller than the diesel fuel they replace. Most fleets recover the charging infrastructure inside 18 to 30 months through the per-km saving alone.
Driver training and a high-voltage safety course add about $300 to $600 per operator, a negligible line against the five-figure annual fuel saving per truck. Telematics, usually included, shows kWh per km so the finance team can verify the business case monthly.
Tariffs vary widely by market, which is why the same truck shows different cost per km by country. Nigeria off-peak industrial supply reaches $0.05 per kWh, South Africa daytime commercial peaks at $0.18 per kWh, and Kenya and Ghana sit in the $0.09 to $0.16 per kWh band. A fleet operating across borders should negotiate a green or EV tariff everywhere and shift bulk charging to off-peak, which typically cuts the effective rate by 30 to 50 percent versus standard commercial pricing.
Charge suits fleets with predictable overnight or break windows, while swap suits 24-hour terminal, port and quarry duty where a 45 to 90 minute charge loses moves. The TE46 terminal tractor swaps in 6 minutes, keeping drayage moving, whereas a distribution fleet charging at the depot overnight rarely needs swap. Match the model to the shift: charge for routed delivery, swap for continuous shuttle, and the cost per productive hour drops accordingly.
Take 30 KT5M-class trucks running 200 km a day, 300 days a year, at 1.5 kWh per km and $0.12 per kWh. Annual energy is 30 x 200 x 300 x 1.5 = 2.7 million kWh, costing $324,000. The same distance on diesel at 25 L per 100 km and $1.10 per litre is 4.5 million litres, costing $4.95 million over five years versus $1.62 million electric — a $3.33 million saving that funds the fleet and the chargers several times over. Add 35 percent lower maintenance and the case is decisive for any operator bidding a five-year contract.
The lowest-risk way to confirm these numbers is a 90-day pilot on one depot vehicle, logging kWh per km, charge time and true cost per km against a diesel twin. Most fleets find the electric unit beats the diesel on energy from day one and on maintenance by month six, and the pilot data de-risks the financing for a full conversion. Shaanxi Fenghan Trading supplies the charger sizing, the utility connection support and the training as part of the FOB quote, so the only variable left is your own tariff, which the pilot measures directly rather than estimates.
A full charge of a 350 kWh electric truck costs $18 to $63 at a commercial tariff of $0.05 to $0.18 per kWh. Most depots land near $0.12 per kWh, so budget about $42 per full charge for a KT5M-class vehicle before any off-peak discount.
Per-km electricity cost runs $0.03 to $0.12 for a 282 to 424 kWh EV truck drawing 1.2 to 1.8 kWh per km. At $0.12 per kWh and 1.5 kWh per km that is $0.18 per km, far below the $0.30-plus a diesel truck burns.
A DC fast charge from 20 to 80 percent takes 45 to 90 minutes on a 120 to 240 kW charger. A full 0 to 100 percent session is about 90 to 150 minutes, so most fleets charge overnight during off-peak windows.
Depot chargers at $0.08 to $0.12 per kWh beat public networks at $0.20 to $0.35 per kWh by 40 to 60 percent. A 100 kW solar plus storage array can cut a 10-truck fleet annual charging bill by $15,000 to $30,000.
Battery swapping takes 5 to 6 minutes and removes the 45 to 90 minute charge wait for terminal and shuttle duty. The TE46 terminal tractor swaps in 6 minutes, keeping drayage trucks moving through a 24-hour shift without a charger queue.
Ready to electrify your fleet? Contact Shaanxi Fenghan Trading — authorized Dongfeng EV truck exporter. WhatsApp: +86 153 1943 1311 | Email: sales@fenghan-trade.com | dongfengevtrucks.com
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