Tesla is gearing up to start selling its upcoming Tesla Semi electric truck in Europe with a new hire to develop the market.

Tesla Semi is finally about to go into volume production in the US after being unveiled almost a decade ago.

The vehicle was unveiled in 2017 and was initially scheduled to enter production in 2019; however, the automaker delayed the program on several occasions.

Tesla unveiled a “production version” in 2022, but it was only produced in small batches. The Class 8 electric truck remains a rare sight in the US, with only a few dozen units in the hands of a handful of customers and a few more in Tesla’s internal fleet.

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In January 2023, Tesla announced an expansion of Gigafactory Nevada to build the Tesla Semi in volume.

However, that plan was also changed and delayed. Tesla ultimately built a separate factory adjacent to Gigafactory Nevada, and production was delayed until 2025.

Earlier this year, Tesla completed the building and started working on the production lines. The automaker said that Tesla Semi production was expected to begin in late 2025 and ramp up to a capacity of 50,000 trucks per year.

Now, we learn that Tesla is starting to build an organization to sell the Tesla Semi in Europe.

Electrek found that Tesla hired a new leader to head business development for Tesla Semi in Europe.

Usuf Schermo announced on his LinkedIn last week that he joined Tesla as “Head of Business Development EMEA for Tesla Semi.”

Schermo, who holds a master in economic engineering, energy and ressources management from TU Berlin, has some experience with commercial electric vehicles.

He was the head of sales in Germany for Volta Trucks from 2022 to 2024. The company made the Volta One, a 16-tonne electric truck aimed at city deliveries.

Volta went bankrupted in 2023, but it got back in business with a restructuring in 2024, which didn’t last long as they were insolvent as of last month.

For the last year, Schermo has been leading sales for EVUM aCar, a German startup building a small commercial vehicle.

Now, he will develop the market for Tesla’s class 8 electric truck.

The European electric commercial truck market is much developed in the US with already some significant competition from Volvo with the Volvo FH Electric, Mercedes-Benz with the eActros 600, MAN with the eTGX, and several others.

The market is still young, but Volvo is already emerging as a leader with an estimated more than 3,000 electric trucks in operations in Europe.

With production only starting in the US toward the end of the year, Tesla is not likely to have an homologated version of the Tesla Semi in Europe until later in 2026.

Tesla has already announced plans to build the Tesla Semi in Europe at Gigafactory Berlin.

The automaker currently only produces the Model Y at the German factory and its sales are crashing across Europe.

Electrek’s Take

I keep saying to Tesla fans that hate me: I track both Tesla hires and departures. I try to report on both, but the former are much more scarce than the latter these days.

This is one of the few significant hires of the last years at Tesla and say “significant” because it shows Tesla is preparing to sell the Tesla Semi in Europe because this is clearly not an executive level role.

Over the last year and since the great purge of talent in April 2024, Tesla has almost been exclusive promoting from within at higher director and VP levels rather than hire from outside.

As for the Tesla Semi in Europe, it could work. Like I said, there’s already a lot of competition, but Tesla Semi is expected to have a longer range than everything else, which should attract buyers.

However, as we recently reported, it is expected to be much more expensive than what Tesla previously announced.

It could particularly useful for Gigafactory Berlin, which is at a real risk right now with Tesla’s sales crashing in Europe. Producing a new vehicle program there, and a commercial one that rely less on consumer perception, could help increase factory utilization.

Israel-Iran conflict lifts freight rates

China’s EV automakers have surged ahead of the competition in global EV sales, and a new report shows just how far ahead they are.

The International Council on Clean Transportation (ICCT) just dropped its third annual Global Automaker Rating, showing that Chinese carmakers dominate the zero-emission vehicle (ZEV) space. China now accounts for over 11 million EVs sold annually – over half of global EV sales.

Its massive domestic market has helped Chinese automakers build serious momentum. They’ve scaled up, improved tech, and are now setting the pace globally. Companies like Geely and SAIC have already hit 50% EV sales share, meeting their 2025 targets a full year early. In fact, Chinese automakers took the top five spots for ZEV class coverage, and five out of the top six for EV sales share.

Meanwhile, automakers in the US and Europe are trying to catch up. But they’re facing a dual challenge of falling behind on tech while navigating shaky regulatory environments.

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The report also confirmed a big milestone: In 2024, BYD officially surpassed Tesla in global battery electric vehicle (BEV) sales for the first time. BYD’s BEV sales jumped 25%, and its combined BEV and plug-in hybrid sales climbed an impressive 47% year-over-year. Still, both BYD and Tesla remain in the “Leaders” category.

Automakers boosted energy efficiency, charging speed, and driving range thanks to newer, high-performance models.

“Our assessment revealed widespread improvement in BEV technology performance across the industry,” said Zifei Yang, ICCT’s global passenger vehicle lead. “GM and Honda made significant advancements by introducing high-performance models to their previously limited offerings, while companies like Geely, Chang’an, and Chery improved substantially with new high-performance EV lines.”

India’s Tata Motors also hit a turning point. For the first time, it graduated from ICCT’s “laggard” group to “transitioner,” thanks to new EVs and big moves on battery recycling and repurposing. While Japanese and South Korean automakers are still lagging behind, Honda and Nissan are inching forward. Honda launched its first US BEV, and Nissan finally clarified its ZEV targets.

One newer addition to this year’s report: a green steel metric. Since steel is the second-largest source of emissions in vehicle manufacturing (after batteries), ICCT now tracks which automakers are cutting emissions in the supply chain. European brands like Mercedes-Benz, BMW, and VW earned high marks for sourcing renewable-powered green steel.

ICCT’s CEO, Drew Kodjak, summed it up: “The rapid evolution of the EV market in China has created technological and manufacturing advantages for companies there. For the wider global auto industry, this is no longer just about meeting future goals – it’s about remaining competitive today in a market that’s charging up.”

The full Global Automaker Rating, covering 21 major automakers, is now live on ICCT’s website.

Read more: EV prices dipped in May – and Tesla Model Y led the slide

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