In 2021, diesel vehicles accounted for more than 97% of newly registered heavy-duty commercial vehicles, according to European Commission

The performance of the fleet of heavy-duty commercial vehicles weighing less than 16 tonnes varied greatly from one Member State to another in 2021, according to the European Commission’s report on CO₂ emissions and the fuel consumption of new heavy-duty commercial vehicles, published on Friday 26 July. Diesel vehicles accounted for more than 97% of all newly registered heavy-duty commercial vehicles.

In the representative group of lorries weighing less than 16 tonnes, the relative difference between the performance of the best-performing Member State’s fleet and that of the worst-performing Member State’s fleet is greater than 16%. Latvia, Sweden and Estonia recorded the best performances, with 587, 592 and 595 grams of CO₂ emitted per kilometre respectively. Italy, Portugal and Malta are at the bottom of the table, with 682, 666 and 660 g/km respectively. The European average is 627 g/km.

For manufacturers, the relative difference is even greater, at around 30%. Renault Trucks reported 577 g/km, compared with 752 g/km for Isuzu Motors Limited.

For lorries above 16 tonnes, the variation between Member States’ fleets is smaller, with 5% for lorries currently subject to CO₂ emission standards, and 14% for vehicles not subject to them. Similarly, for manufacturers, the disparity is around 11% for the former and 8% for the latter.

In addition, data on the adoption of advanced technologies shows that almost three quarters of newly registered vehicles are equipped with at least one advanced driver-assistance system. Data on additional advanced CO₂ reduction technologies is limited, but suggests that a significant proportion of vehicles could be equipped with advanced aerodynamic devices or pulse and glide technology.

Finally, diesel vehicles still account for more than 97% of all newly registered heavy-duty commercial vehicles covered by this report. Only a limited number of vehicles use alternative fuels or propulsion systems, mainly LNG and CNG.

Read the report: https://aeur.eu/f/d6d (Original version in French by Anne Damiani)