Einride Says Its Sales Pipeline Tripled as Diesel Tops $6 a Gallon

Einride, a company that sells electric and autonomous freight services, says shippers that once put off electric trucks are now asking to start. CEO Roozbeh Charli told InsideEVs that talks with customers about electrification have picked up as the average U.S. diesel price sits above $6 per gallon.

According to InsideEVs, diesel has climbed more than 60% since the war with Iran began, a much steeper rise than regular gasoline has seen. Shippers in Europe are also paying far more for fuel.

Einride’s sales numbers

Founded in 2016, Einride sells electric freight services and software. The company says its sales pipeline, meaning the potential deals it is working on, tripled year over year in the first half of 2026. Its conversion rate, the share of those prospects that turn into business, doubled over the same period.

Charli said many customers who had told Einride they would look at electric freight at some later date are returning now. They want to begin “rather sooner than later,” he said.

Where electric big rigs compete on cost

In Charli’s view, expensive fuel widens the range of jobs where an electric truck costs the same as a diesel big rig, or less. He points mainly to what he calls middle-mile work: round trips of roughly 100-200 miles with trucks kept busy most of the time. Heavy use matters because battery-powered trucks still tend to cost more than diesel models.

He added that the price spike has shown some companies how exposed their operations are to large swings in diesel costs.

What it means for fleets and air quality

Heavy-duty trucks are a fairly small part of the U.S. vehicle fleet, but they burn a disproportionate share of its fuel and put out a disproportionate share of harmful air pollution, InsideEVs reports.

Ray Minjares, who directs the heavy-duty vehicles program at the International Council on Clean Transportation, said any exposure to diesel exhaust harms health and there is no safe level. With zero-emission commercial vehicles already on sale, he said, switching to them is the obvious step.

Other shippers are placing orders

Einride is not alone in seeing demand. In September, a group of shippers that includes PepsiCo ordered 2,500 electric trucks, a deal expected to double the U.S. fleet of electric Class 8 trucks, the heaviest category of tractor-trailers. Catalyst Mobility, one of the nonprofits running that program, has said companies outside the deal are also showing more interest in electric trucks because of diesel prices.

The Tesla Semi and Einride’s fleet

Charli also credits the launch of the Tesla Semi, which drew more attention to electric trucking. He called the truck a “step-change” in U.S. hardware for range, performance and price.

In August, Einride announced plans to deploy 500 Semis to serve Amazon and other North American customers, which would triple its fleet. Tesla reached full-scale production of the truck several years later than planned. “They timed it well,” Charli said.

Source: InsideEVs