Yes—Motor Trucks Were Already on the Road by 1910

Yes. By 1910, motor trucks were in commercial use in the United States and Europe, supplementing (but not yet replacing) horse-drawn wagons. Early trucks—powered by gasoline, electricity, or steam—handled urban deliveries, construction materials, and municipal work. They typically carried 1–3 tons at modest speeds, ran on solid rubber tires, and often used chain drive. While their numbers were still small compared with horse-drawn vehicles, a recognizable trucking industry was already taking shape.

How the truck era reached 1910

Early truck development accelerated from the late 1890s through the first decade of the 1900s, moving from experimental prototypes to practical city delivery vehicles.

• 1896: Gottlieb Daimler’s firm builds what is widely cited as the first purpose-built motor truck in Germany.
• 1899–1902: Early American manufacturers including Autocar (1899), White (early 1900s), Rapid Motor Vehicle Co. (1902; later part of GMC) begin producing commercial trucks.
• Early 1900s: British and European makers such as Foden and Sentinel (steam), Leyland’s predecessors, Daimler/Mercedes, Renault, and Peugeot introduce commercial lorries.
• 1907: International Harvester’s Auto Wagon brings a rugged, farm-friendly utility truck to rural America.
• Late 1900s: Electric delivery trucks—by companies such as Walker and others—gain traction for short-range urban routes, alongside gasoline and steam models.

By the turn of the decade, these advances had pushed trucks from novelty to working tools in cities, even if infrastructure and technology still limited their wider reach.

What a 1910 truck was like

Compared with today’s vehicles, a 1910 truck was mechanically simple, slow, and specialized for short, heavy tasks.

• Powertrains: Gasoline engines were becoming dominant, but electric and steam trucks were still common in cities.
• Performance: Typical speeds were roughly 10–20 mph (16–32 km/h) with payloads from about 1 to 3 tons, depending on design.
• Drivetrain and tires: Many used chain drive and solid rubber tires; pneumatic tires for heavy trucks became widespread later.
• Braking and comfort: Brakes were mechanical, cabs were open or minimally enclosed, and rides were harsh over rough roads.
• Range and duty cycle: Electric trucks excelled at frequent-stop, short-range deliveries; gasoline offered longer range; steam favored heavy hauling where water and fuel were available.

These characteristics made 1910 trucks dependable for repetitive, local hauling but ill-suited to long-distance work on the era’s largely unimproved roads.

Who was building trucks by 1910

Multiple established and emerging manufacturers were selling or piloting trucks by 1910 across the U.S. and Europe.

• Daimler/Mercedes (Germany): From the 1896 pioneer to multi-ton lorries by the 1900s.
• Autocar (U.S.): Among the earliest American makers dedicated to commercial trucks (from 1899).
• White Motor Company (U.S.): Producing commercial trucks in the early 1900s.
• Mack Brothers (U.S.): Building heavy-duty commercial vehicles in the 1900s; later famed for WWI-era models.
• Rapid and Reliance (U.S.): Early truck makers consolidated into General Motors; the GMC truck brand emerged soon after (1912).
• International Harvester (U.S.): The 1907 Auto Wagon became a staple for farmers and small businesses.
• Renault and Peugeot (France): Early lorry production supported urban and industrial needs.
• Foden and Sentinel (U.K.): Steam wagons widely used for heavy hauling before and into the 1910s.
• Walker (U.S.) and other electric makers: Battery-electric delivery trucks for bakeries, breweries, and department stores.

Together, these companies established the commercial credibility of motor trucks, each focusing on niches—from city delivery to heavy materials transport.

Where and how trucks were used in 1910

Trucks found their earliest foothold in repeatable, short-range tasks where reliability and quick turnaround mattered more than speed.

• City deliveries: Grocers, dairies, department stores, and breweries adopted trucks for regular routes.
• Construction and industry: Hauling bricks, lumber, coal, and machinery to and from job sites and railheads.
• Municipal services: Street cleaning, refuse collection, and utility work leveraged the stop-start strengths of motor trucks.
• Agriculture: High-wheeler utility trucks, like IH’s Auto Wagon, bridged farm and market.
• Military trials: Armies experimented with motor transport before WWI, setting the stage for rapid wartime adoption.

These applications played to trucks’ strengths and created the operational knowledge that would fuel rapid growth later in the decade.

Adoption and limits around 1910

By 1910, several thousand motor trucks were in service in the United States—concentrated in major cities—with growing numbers in Europe. Expansion was held back by poor rural roads, limited payload and speed, solid tires, and the need for dependable maintenance and fueling infrastructure. Even so, the trend line pointed up: as roads improved and technology matured, fleets scaled quickly in the mid‑1910s.

After 1910: what changed next

World War I accelerated truck development and procurement, standardizing designs and proving reliability. In the U.S., the formation of GMC (early 1910s) and Ford’s purpose-built Model TT (1917) pushed costs down and capacities up. Pneumatic tires, better brakes, stronger frames, and improved roads in the 1920s made longer-distance trucking practical, cementing trucks as a backbone of modern logistics.

Summary

There were indeed trucks in 1910—gasoline, electric, and steam-powered machines working mostly in cities and industrial settings. They hauled a few tons at modest speeds and remained outnumbered by horse-drawn wagons, but the core technology and commercial use cases were already established, setting the stage for explosive growth through the 1910s and beyond.