‘Transport represents almost a quarter of Europe’s greenhouse gas emissions…road transport is by far the biggest emitter.’ That’s how the European Commission website introduces its strategy for low-emissions mobility. So, what are the strategic regulations that you need to know about as a transport operator? This article takes a look at the key Europe-wide policies on HGV emissions and some recent stories on what might come in future.
The main EU policy on HGV emissions
Europe’s first carbon dioxide (CO2) regulation for heavy-duty vehicles aims to reduce CO2 emissions from trucks, buses and coaches.
Since August 2019, regulation demands that OEMs set fleet-wide emissions targets for their vehicles. Specifically, HGVs need to reduce average CO2 emissions by 15% by 2025 from the 2020 baseline. By 2030, the reduction should be at 30%. It is expected that by 2022 OEMs who do not comply with these standards face penalisation.
CUTTING YOUR CO2 EMISSIONS CAN ALSO HELP CUT YOUR FLEET COSTS. WANT TO KNOW MORE? READ OUR LATEST RESEARCH HERE.
What might this mean for transport fleets?
The core goal of all of this is to speed up the introduction of more energy efficient technologies and lower emission HGVs to the market. And greater levels of fuel efficiency could translate into more cost effective operations for transport fleets.
Also, the regulation demands a greater level of transparency from OEMs when it comes to their vehicle’s fuel efficiency. Given fuel makes up about 30% of a transport fleets’ operating costs, this information will be helpful for the fleet manager browsing for new models to add to their truck fleet.
Purchasing more fuel efficient trucks
On its European Commission website, the European Union explains how, while the purchase price might be higher for a more fuel efficient model, the overall cost saving capabilities are more than worth it.
“…we want to make it easier for (truck fleets) to save money on fuel by investing in the most efficient trucks. By adding about €1,800 to the purchase price of a truck, transport companies – mostly SMEs – will be able to save more than €25,000 over 5 years thanks to lower fuel consumption.”
In July 2020, European leaders introduced the Recovery and Resilience Facility (RFF), an initiative to help the continent deal with the major economic setbacks brought on by COVID-19. One of the key features of this deal was a commitment to ‘building back greener’.
One recommendation is that European countries set clear targets to assist local OEMs to produce 10% of their new lorries zero emissions by 2025. This assistance could come in the form of loans with favourable conditions and, more generally, the deployment of better charging infrastructure.
It goes on to recommend that long haulage companies themselves should be encouraged with financial assistance schemes when choosing to add zero emission vehicles to their fleets. One possible approach would be a point-of-sale discount voucher scheme that ensures low emission trucks are affordable, particularly for SMEs with truck fleets.
CUTTING YOUR CO2 EMISSIONS CAN ALSO HELP CUT YOUR FLEET COSTS. WANT TO KNOW MORE? READ OUR LATEST RESEARCH HERE.
Running a greener fleet
While truck fleets will need to adapt to run more sustainable operations, as we can see, the end results will be beneficial both for the planet and their bottom line. Greater fuel efficiency means lower fuel consumption and reduced running costs. And this is an area where our Webfleet fleet management solution can be an extremely valuable asset.
Webfleet gives you and your drivers clear, detailed reports on driving behaviour, fuel usage and carbon emissions. This clear visibility over how you consume fuel and how your drivers influence this with their behaviour behind the wheel, gives you all you vital tools to run a greener, safer and more cost effective fleet. Find out more: https://www.webfleet.com/en_gb/webfleet/fleet-management/green-and-safe-driving/