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The U.S. push to challenge China’s dominance in the production and sale of electric vehicles has at least one weak link: Most of the raw materials needed to make the batteries are dug elsewhere.

All major truck builders and several startups are preparing to develop, test and market either battery-electric vehicles or fuel-cell/battery models in the very near term. Replacing diesel-powered Class 8 trucks, though, will present numerous challenges to an industry accustomed to proven and reliable diesel-­engine technology.

Volkswagen’s Chattanooga, Tenn., electric vehicle assembly plant will use batteries produced at a $1.67 billion factory in Georgia.

The country holding the world’s largest reserves of lithium says it is one step closer to becoming a manufacturing hub for rechargeable batteries used in electric vehicles.

LAS VEGAS — Nikola Motor Co. founder and CEO Trevor Milton said two key customers — private fleet Anheuser-Busch Cos. and truckload carrier U.S. Xpress Enterprises — will begin fleet tests of Nikola’s zero-emisssions hydrogen-electric Class 8 trucks by the end of the year, as the first shoots of the necessary fueling infrastructure are emerging in Phoenix.

To deliver an electric vehicle that’s cheaper, safer and capable of traveling 500 miles on a single charge, the auto industry needs a breakthrough in battery technology. Easier said than done.

As electric vehicle technology becomes increasingly viable for commercial trucking, fleets and manufacturers are preparing to put the first generation of battery-electric trucks on the road.

Samsung plans to build a $62 million electric vehicle battery pack factory in Auburn Hills, Mich., that will create more than 400 jobs, the Michigan Economic Development Corporation announced.

Albemarle Corp., the world’s largest lithium producer, is planning to expand production in Australia, chasing the market for a form of the metal increasingly being used by the makers of electric car batteries.