Brussels, 10/09/2015 (Agence Europe) - New US standards on fuel consumption by heavy goods vehicles will force American makers to build cleaner lorries than their European counterparts, overtaking them between 2017 and 2020, claims Transport & Environment (T&E), a group which campaigns for cleaner transport, in an article published on 7 September.
Currently, average fuel consumption by American lorries is 36 litres per 100 kilometres compared with a little over 34l/100km in Europe. The positions will, however, be reversed between 2017 and 2020. According to T&E calculations, by 2027, American lorries will consume less than 27l/100km while European lorries will still consume more than 32l/100km, unless steps are taken by the EU between now and then.
On 19 June, the US environment protection agency proposed a 24% improvement in the fuel consumption of lorries by 2017, compared with the 2011 level, reports USNews. “The US, China and Japan … are moving ahead with CO2 standards but Europe is paralysed”, said William Todts, transport programme manager at T&E.
The figures are not entirely reliable, acknowledge the authors of the report on which the T&E article is partly based. The baseline for calculating the fuel consumption of lorries in the US will be amended in 2017 and there is no certified reference base in Europe. Furthermore, models and categories vary widely between the EU and the US. Similarly, styles of driving are very different. The data are not, therefore, exactly comparable but give a general indication, T&E says.
In August, the German federal environment agency, Umweltbundesamt, issued a call for lorry emissions targets to be set. In Germany alone, lorries emitted 38.7 million tonnes of CO2 in 2013. Lorries and buses together accounted for almost 30% of the world's CO2 emissions in 2012. This is expected to rise to 40% by 2030 “as a result of improved fuel efficiency in cars”, says T&E.
Vehicle makers hit back. “The European industry has reduced the fuel consumption of today's heavy-duty vehicles by at least 60% since 1965, despite conflicting emissions regulations … European commercial vehicle manufacturers are world leaders in fuel efficiency … and are committed to retaining this global lead”, the European Automobile Manufacturers Association (ACEA) told EUROPE. The association says the VECTO software will allow more accurate measurement of the fuel consumption of lorries and buses (see EUROPE 11358). (Pascal Hansens)