The heavy goods vehicle (HGV) sector is today calling for an urgent, government-led strategy to drive uptake of zero emission trucks to meet decarbonisation targets. With just over a decade until the first end of sale deadline for the UK’s predominantly diesel HGV workhorses, new analysis from the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders (SMMT) shows that Britain’s strategic road network has not a single HGV-dedicated electric charging or hydrogen filling point.1 This lack of infrastructure makes it impossible for the vast majority of operators to contemplate investments to decarbonise their fleets, putting critical CO2 emission savings of up to 21.1 million tonnes a year at risk.2
From 2035, all new HGVs weighing under 26 tonnes sold in the UK must be zero emission – the same date as for the car and van sectors, despite the EV truck market being two decades behind that of passenger cars. The remaining heavier vehicles must be completely decarbonised five years later, but the initial deadline leaves many operators with just one full eight-year cycle of fleet renewal to make the transition. While investment announcements for public car charging infrastructure are gradually flowing through, there is no equivalent plan for HGV-dedicated infrastructure.
HGV manufacturers are investing heavily in a broad range of electric and hydrogen models, however, these currently account for just one in 600 trucks on UK roads.3 A key concern for the sector is ‘charging anxiety’, which is felt acutely by operators with time-sensitive, long-haul business models. Delivering sufficient levels of public infrastructure would significantly increase operator confidence to make the necessary and substantial investments to decarbonise their fleets.
