The transition to carbon-neutral and emission-free freight transport requires a radical shift in the policy of the European Union and all Member States towards zero emission trucks, says the European Automobile Manufacturers’ Association (ACEA) in a statement issued on Friday 6 December.
“If we are to [...] convince hauliers to make the switch to low- and zero-emission vehicles on a large scale, Europe urgently needs to introduce a strong package of consistent and predicable policy measures”, said Gerrit Marx, Chairman of the ACEA’s Board of Directors for commercial vehicles.
The ACEA specifically recommends the rapid deployment of a specialised charging infrastructure for electric trucks and the introduction of significant incentives for these vehicles.
Manufacturers also are asking that the revision of the ‘Eurovignette’ Directive, on which Member States failed to agree on Monday (see EUROPE 12382/9), should make it possible to differentiate road user charges based on CO2 emissions.
According to the latest figures published by the ACEA, 98.3% of heavy and medium trucks (over 3.5 tonnes) currently on European roads operate on diesel. Electric vehicles, on the other hand, represent only 0.01% of trucks in circulation in the EU, i.e. one vehicle in 10,000. In addition, about 0.4% of trucks in the EU run on natural gas. (Original version in French by Damien Genicot)