SMMT flags up problems for van and truck fleets taking on zero emission vehicles

According to new analysis by the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders (SMMT).

Around 5.1 million vans and 626,000 trucks are currently on UK roads, all helping to keep Britain on the move by transporting more than 80% of all domestic freight and directly adding £13.5 billion to the economy each year.

While CVs make up 14% of all vehicles on the road, their higher mileages and energy demands make them responsible for more than a third of all road transport CO2 – and almost an eighth (12%) of the UK’s carbon footprint. Replacing conventionally-fuelled CVs with zero emission vehicle (ZEV) models is critical to the achievement of net zero – and transitioning the entire fleet would deliver a CO2 savings greater than the total carbon footprint of Sweden.

The SMMT says that, as business tools, investment in new vans and trucks must be commercially and operationally viable. But deriving the full benefits of going electric requires affordable energy, access to depot charging and access to charging facilities suitable for larger vehicles across the UK’s strategic road network. The fact that companies currently face wait times of up 15 years for grid connections is the biggest barrier to EV adoption and is too late not just for 2035 – when the sale of new, non-ZEV vans and HGVs under 26 tonnes is due to end – but for 2040 when all new HGVs sold in the UK must be zero emission.

According to the SMMT, massive manufacturer investment means operators can now choose from 35 zero emission van models – more than half of the market – and more than 30 ZEV truck models. Uptake, however, remains significantly behind ambition with the ZEV mandate requiring 16% of new van sales to be ZEVs in 2025. Currently, electric van registrations are running at little more than half that (8.3%) with around 167,000 more expected to reach the road over the next three years – which would see the market reach 25% ZEV by the end of 2027, below the mandate target of 34%. The challenge is even steeper for the HGV sector, with ZEVs making up just 0.5% of registrations and accounting for fewer than 600 trucks currently in use.

While grants for plug-in vans and trucks and government’s Zero Emission HGV and Infrastructure Demonstrator (ZEHID) programme continue to incentivise the zero emission commercial vehicle transition, action is needed now to remove administrative gridlock to investment.

Mike Hawes, SMMT chief executive, said: “We cannot deliver net zero and improve air quality without decarbonising commercial vehicles. But if operators have to wait up to 15 years just to be able to plug them into their depots, there is no case for investment. Prioritising grid connections, alongside reform to planning and action on energy costs, would reduce barriers to adoption, ensuring commercial vehicles continue to carry the loads that keep our economy on the move whilst doing the heavy lifting the nation needs to reach net zero.”

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