Filling Europe’s Heavy Electric Specialist Vehicle Gap: BYD’s ETH28 Duo Debuts — A Close Look at How Strong the Specification Is

As one of the core players in the global new-energy commercial vehicle market, BYD has achieved large-scale electrification of commercial vehicles in many markets worldwide thanks to its vertically integrated technology system and full-scenario product line-up. In Europe — one of the world's most demanding markets with the strictest regulations — BYD has long been a leader in the pure electric bus segment. On the truck side, since launching its electric truck business in 2012, BYD has also been steadily bringing mature pure electric solutions to Europe. Earlier models such as the ETM6 pure electric light truck and the ETP3 pure electric van have been well received by European operators.

In September this year, the IAA Transportation show opened in Hanover, Germany. As the world's largest and most influential commercial vehicle gathering, IAA became the core stage for BYD to demonstrate heavy pure electric truck technology and expand its European footprint. On that stage, two ETH28 pure electric heavy trucks caught this writer's eye.

Previously, BYD's truck offering in Europe was relatively limited in category. The launch of the ETH28 series directly fills the gap in BYD's European heavy specialist vehicle range, extending product coverage from urban distribution to regional logistics and construction work — scenarios where diesel trucks have traditionally dominated — and marking a key step in the upgrade of BYD's European commercial vehicle strategy.

The ETH28 is built on BYD's all-new 28-tonne pure electric commercial vehicle platform. In the name, ETH stands for Electric Truck Heavy, representing BYD's heavy electric truck series, while 28 denotes the 28-tonne class. The two models shown at the show share the same technical base and are highly consistent in exterior design, chassis architecture and intelligent systems — entirely new products developed by BYD specifically for European professional commercial vehicle use scenarios.

In exterior design, the new trucks continue the family design logic of BYD's electric commercial vehicles. The design language adopts the rugged, minimalist style mainstream among European heavy commercial vehicles and was led by BYD's Global Design Director Wolfgang Egger. The sharp lines create a restrained sense of the future — understated, yet unmistakably a BYD family heavy truck at first glance.

The front mask is finished in matte black, creating a striking contrast with the white body. Based on the real-world use of pure electric trucks, the vehicle adopts a closed front mask and optimises aerodynamics through body lines and airflow-guiding structures, further reducing energy consumption in motion while also delivering better in-cabin NVH.

The headlights are pentagonal in overall geometry, continuing the vehicle's sharp design language. Inside, LED light sources offer low power consumption and long life, and lighting performance is greatly improved over conventional halogen lamps, raising driving safety at night and in bad weather.

Above the bumper there is an anti-slip perforated step. Made of metal, it makes it easier for the driver to climb up and clean the windscreen, and also reduces the risk of the bumper being scratched or damaged.

Electronic mirrors replace conventional optical mirrors. Compared with traditional mirrors, electronic mirrors present a smaller frontal area to the airflow, so aerodynamic drag is lower and wind noise is suppressed. They also offer a wider field of view and better visibility at night and in bad weather, which is beneficial for driving safety. Even the front blind-spot mirror above the windscreen has been replaced by a camera: through the camera, the driver can see the blind spot diagonally ahead on the passenger side directly on the in-cabin screen, avoiding accidents when changing lanes or turning.

An observation window is provided in the passenger door, further reducing blind spots. As is well known, the area diagonally ahead of the passenger seat is the farthest from the driver and the most obstructed; covering this most dangerous blind spot greatly improves driving safety.

BYD offers the ETH28 series with either a flat-roof or a high-roof sleeper cab. The cab passes the EU ECE R29 cab safety regulation and is built fully in line with the European commercial vehicle certification system, safeguarding occupant safety under intensive operation at the structural level. The interior layout takes full account of comfort during long working hours, the human-machine interface is adapted to local usage logic, and whole-vehicle NVH is markedly good — whether weaving through urban distribution or working long shifts on construction and sanitation duty, driver fatigue is effectively reduced.

The e-powertrain is the core competitiveness of the ETH28 series and concentrates BYD's technical depth and vertical integration advantages in heavy commercial vehicles. On power, both models are equipped with a dual-motor integrated e-axle with 420 kW rated power and up to 600 kW peak power — ample reserves to handle complex road conditions and heavy-load transport. The integrated e-axle design also improves transmission efficiency and reduces chassis space occupation, leaving more redundancy for battery and body layout.

On the battery, the entire ETH28 range uses BYD's in-house Blade Battery with 651 kWh capacity, with other specifications available. Backed by decades of laboratory validation, technology iteration and accumulated real-world operating experience in commercial vehicles worldwide, the Blade Battery offers high safety, high reliability and strong scalability, and can handle the demanding high-frequency, high-load, multi-scenario duty cycles of heavy commercial vehicles — which is the core reason foreign media call it a forward-looking battery solution for heavy commercial vehicles. BYD also offers the ETH28 series an industry-leading 10-year/1.2 million km battery warranty (at 70% remaining useful life), far exceeding the usual 2-8 year warranty of mainstream European truck brands, greatly reducing users' long-term operating costs and asset concerns.

Dual body solutions precisely cover the two core scenarios of logistics and construction

Built on a common pure electric chassis, the BYD ETH28 series pure electric heavy trucks use differentiated body designs to hit two core commercial scenarios precisely, providing tailor-made zero-emission solutions for users in different fields.

ETH28 Swap Body: an efficient zero-emission solution for regional logistics

Targeting regional consolidation logistics and rapid body-swap use cases, the ETH28 Swap Body focuses on long range and high turnover efficiency. The vehicle displayed carries a 651 kWh battery (other capacities optional) and achieves 540 km of combined-cycle range — better than equivalent European competitors — covering the single-day operating mileage of the vast majority of regional logistics routes and freeing operators from range anxiety.

The tailgate is fitted with a folding hydraulic lift to facilitate routine loading and unloading.

Combined with 425 kW high-power DC fast charging, the vehicle can top up quickly during loading, unloading and driver rest breaks, greatly compressing idle time. The quickly interchangeable body design also allows the vehicle to handle general cargo, cold chain and express parcels, further improving asset utilisation and offering logistics companies a highly adaptable route to fleet electrification.

ETH28 Hooklift: a pure electric powertrain revolution for construction work

Designed for lifting operations, waste handling, building construction and other construction applications, BYD's ETH28 Hooklift stands out for one feature: an independent dedicated body motor. The motor delivers 85 kW rated and 170 kW peak output, far above the 60-90 kW standard interface power on the market, providing strong and continuous power support for heavy container handling and high-frequency hydraulic operations.

It is worth noting that this independent body power system does not impose additional load on the vehicle's main drivetrain, ensuring that driving power and working power do not interfere with each other and balancing on-road performance with on-site working efficiency. For charging, the vehicle supports 320 kW DC fast charging and completes a 20%-80% top-up in 71 minutes, matching the intermittent working and fixed-point charging rhythm of construction sites.

The debut of the two ETH28 models is a major expansion of BYD's European truck product matrix. It breaks the previous category limitations of the brand in the European truck market and formally enters the regional logistics and construction segments long dominated by diesel heavy trucks, moving the application scenarios of pure electric heavy trucks from inside the city to cross-region plus construction site and building a more complete European electric truck product portfolio.

From market leadership in electric buses to a breakthrough on the electric heavy truck track, BYD is converting the industrial advantages of China's new-energy commercial vehicles into localised service capability in the European market. With a full product matrix and end-to-end solutions, it is driving the zero-emission transformation of Europe's commercial vehicle industry and offering a replicable, implementable China solution for global commercial vehicle electrification.

Text and photos: Tijia editorial team; writing: heseaotter