Hampleton Partners’ new Autotech & Mobility M&A Report has revealed strong dealmaking energy in the market. Transaction numbers soared last year to match a previous peak in 2023, with 2H2025 racking up the third-biggest half-year deal haul on record. The report particularly highlights the significance of the electric vehicle (EV) transition as a deal driver, with Michael Brecht – Sector Principal for Mobility & Infrastructure at Hampleton Partners – saying: 

“The sustained takeup of EVs in important territories like Germany and the UK has contributed to the robust level of buyer confidence we’re seeing right now. The burgeoning transition to electric cars, buses and trucks is incentivising the acquisition of innovators in the EV ecosystem, from developers of AI-enabled onboard diagnostics to EV charging infrastructure solutions providers.”

While cars are understandably generating most of the media discourse around the EV revolution, the slow but sure adoption of electric trucks now warrants serious attention as a generator of European investment momentum. As our report points out, “electric heavy-duty trucks are scaling quickly from a smaller base. In 2025, electric trucks above 16 tonnes reached around 3–4% of new registrations in Europe, with annual growth rates well above 50% year-on-year in key logistics markets. Urban and regional delivery dominate early adoption, where duty cycles and depot charging enable immediate electrification.”

The manufacture and uptake of electric trucks in Europe is being fuelled by regulatory pressures and financial incentives. Heavy-duty vehicles such as lorries and buses are responsible for more than 25% of total greenhouse gas emissions from road transport across the continent – a fact which has led the EU to set CO2 emissions reduction targets for HDVs of 45% for 2030-2034, 65% for 2035-2039 and 90% as of 2040, compared to 2019 levels. 

Meanwhile, we’re seeing the implementation of incentives such as more favourable tax structures and subsidies, a notable example being the Netherlands’ AanZET scheme which gives businesses a percentage of the purchase price of zero-emissions trucks. Such incentives are undoubtedly playing an important part in the normalisation of electric trucks, given that such vehicles are still considerably more expensive than traditional diesel. That said, Hampleton Partners’ new report makes the important point that “for fleets with predictable routes, electric buses and trucks already show 20–40% lower energy costs per kilometre, as well as significantly reduced maintenance expenses. Factoring in rising carbon pricing, urban access restrictions, and fuel cost volatility, the total cost of ownership parity, or better, is increasingly achievable before subsidies.” 

While we’re still on the early part of the adoption curve, investors are certainly taking note of how things are evolving, with companies facilitating the EV truck transition receiving significant financial backing. Let’s look at some of the recent landmark fundraises in the space.

Swedish firm Einride has established itself as one of the leading players in this space, with its offerings encompassing electric trucks, cab-less autonomous trucks, and Saga AI, a “freight as a service” software platform which optimises route management, electric charging and the monitoring of CO2 emissions. 

Einride has achieved some notable firsts in the industry. In 2024 it commenced Europe’s first daily commercial autonomous operations when online pharmacy retailer Apotea began using its trucks to transport inventory between warehouses in Sweden. And last year, Einride made headlines when one of its autonomous trucks – operating for Nordic postal services firm PostNord – travelled between Sweden and Norway in what was the world’s first driverless, cross-border crossing.

In October, Einride secured its latest hefty fundraise – a USD 100m round – shortly before announcing its intention to go public through a SPAC deal, at a valuation of USD 1.8b.

In November, German logistics startup NexDash raised EUR 5m in a seed round – an impressive windfall given the company had only been in existence three months. Guided by the catchy assertion that while “the last decade was about neobanks, the next is about neo-carriers”, NexDash has created an AI-powered fleet management platform for the EV era, with the funding round heralding a period of aggressive expansion for the company.

The money is being channelled towards an ambitious acquisition strategy which will see it purchase other logistics operators with a view to electrifying their diesel fleets and managing their operations through its proprietary platform. It has the clear aim of challenging more established firms like Einride by scaling its zero-emission logistics network across Europe and breaking into the US market.

Another German firm working to facilitate logistics electrification is Delta Charge, which specialises in battery storage and charging infrastructure for fleets, with end-to-end services encompassing the design, construction and operation of commercial battery systems and truck-charging depots. In November, it secured USD 4.3m in a fundraise which is allowing it to scale its pan-European network and enhance its software platform and grid-connected battery technology.

A spokesperson at one of the VC firms involved in the transaction highlighted the significance of such technology to the EV logistics transition: “Operating electric truck fleets at the lowest possible total cost of ownership will rely on smart depot charging solutions that combine battery storage, charging infrastructure, and seamless software integration.”

At Hampleton Partners, our dealmakers bring decades of experience in Autotech industry leadership and dealmaking, and are ready to help you navigate today’s fast-changing market environment. If you’re a founder or senior executive looking to steer your Autotech & Mobility company towards a funding round or exit, email our Sector Principal Michael Brecht to get the conversation started.

You can also get more of the latest insights into the market by downloading our Autotech & Mobility M&A Report, along with our other market reports which lay out the transaction data and acquisition patterns across an array of tech sectors including Enterprise Software and Digital Commerce. These are published twice-yearly, so subscribe now to ensure you’re automatically notified when they’re ready to read.