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UK auto industry calls for clear zero emission HGV plan

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UK auto industry trade body The Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders (SMMT) has called on government to work with industry to develop a clear plan to enable the transition to zero emission HGVs before committing to an end-of-sale date for fossil-fuelled trucks.

All of Europe’s major truck manufacturers have agreed that new HGVs will be fossil fuel-free by 2040, and are investing billions in new powertrains to replace diesel, but at present there is no clear technology that can provide full zero emission operations for all weights and uses of HGVs.

According to analysis from the SMMT published in a new report Fuelling the Fleet the commercial, technological and operational barriers currently associated with new technologies such as batteries and hydrogen meant that in 2020, only 0.2 per cent of HGVs were alternatively fuelled. Passenger cars reached this proportion in 2007.

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Battery electric van usage, meanwhile, reached 0.3 per cent in 2020 – the same proportion as cars in 2019. Uptake rates for electric vans have continued to grow rapidly, reflecting how battery power can effectively replace fossil fuels in this vehicle class, but just 2.6 per cent of new vans registered between January and July 2021 were battery electric vehicles (BEVs), compared to 8.2 per cent of cars.

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