For the first time at an EU level, new CO2 targets have been set for the truck manufacturing industry. These targets state that CO2 emissions must be cut by 15% after 2025 and 30% by 2030. Despite this being a strong step in the right direction to reduce the harmful effects of vehicle emissions, there are still reservations from the automobile trade.
The European Automobile Manufacturers Associate (ACEA) has concerns regarding the “demanding” targets set by the EU. This concern stems from the lack of infrastructure in place to support an increased number of alternatively-fuelled vehicles on European roads. In the ACEA’s report it states that there is currently no public charging or refuelling infrastructure suitable for electric or hydrogen trucks, and truck-specific filling stations for natural gas vehicles remain very low and sparse across Europe.
The new EU targets also fail to take into account the demand for alternatively-fuelled trucks, with many studies showing that there isn’t a strong enough business case for mass adoption of this new technology. The ACEA urges policy makers to ensure that the zero-emission trucks that they will be mandated to produce will be actually bough and operated by their customers.
Another concern with the latest CO2 targets is that many of the additional measures that could help manufacturers reach these targets have been deferred until at least 2025. These measures include longer vehicle combinations such as EMS, and the use of alternative fuels in road vehicles.
Company Head Office
AID Fuel Oils Group
Cocksparrow Lane
Huntington
Cannock
Staffordshire
WS12 4PB
