Decarbonising HGVs needs focus
Last week, SMMT Electrified convened industry, government and stakeholders to evaluate the UK’s progress in decarbonising road transport and the challenges that remain. Although much of the public debate thus far has focused on cars and vans, given the steep mandated targets involved, the event also brought the challenges facing heavy commercial vehicles to the fore, courtesy of a keynote from Jan Kohlmeier, managing director of MAN Truck & Bus UK, and a panel featuring Alexander Dennis, DHL Supply Chain, Voltempo Group and Volvo Trucks.
The group stressed that collaboration with all stakeholders – including government – was essential to drive uptake of zero emission HGVs, vehicles that are essential to the UK economy and society, supporting everything from logistics and construction to public services. Yet this is a sector that is particularly hard to decarbonise; despite unprecedented investment by manufacturers to deliver more than 40 zero emission HGV models to market, the sector’s transition lags far behind ambition.
In 2025, ZEV HGV uptake reached a record high – but accounted for just 1.4% of new registrations and was dominated by very specific utility vehicles such as refuse collection vehicles. Given the ambition for all new HGVs under 26t to be zero emission by 2035, and with an all-ZEV HGV market targeted for 2040, the challenge is stark.
Currently, the decision to switch from conventional diesel to a zero emission HGV fleet remains out of reach for most road freight and logistics operators, who have pressing concerns around payload, range, residual values, and the high capital cost and availability of depot charging and refuelling infrastructure.
Overcoming these concerns will require a thoughtful, joined-up approach to regulation, charging infrastructure and incentivisation that recognises the multitude of diverse HGV types, sizes and use-cases. Failure to do this will have far reaching consequences beyond the immediate sector, impacting inflation, cost of living, UK manufacturing competitiveness and economic growth.
As the government prepares to make critical decisions about how HGV decarbonisation will be regulated, next month’s Commercial Vehicle Show will be an important moment to continue the discussion and highlight the technologies and solutions that can help operators get ahead of the game. The UK’s flagship event for the sector will bring together manufacturers, including Chery; Farizon; Ford; Iveco; Isuzu; Kia; Renault; and Stellantis Pro One, along with fleet operators, policymakers and infrastructure providers to address challenges collaboratively. You can register for your free pass here and I look forward to seeing many of you there.