EU truck targets too weak to incentivise transition to zero-emission vehicles

Improvements in aerodynamics and fuel efficiency mean trucks can already achieve the EU’s 2025 CO₂ reduction target while producing just a few zero-emission vehicles. If all of Europe’s trucks performed as well as the most efficient models on the market, it would reduce average truck CO₂ emissions by 6% today. But efficiency gains alone will not get Europe’s trucking sector to net-zero and truckmakers are going to slowly on their own.

Most truckmakers have made voluntary commitments for electric sales which go beyond what the EU requires. According to their public announcements, these voluntary commitments would take the market to around 7% zero-emission vehicles in 2025 and 43% in 2030 – higher than the 5% needed in 2025 to meet existing targets. These voluntary announcements show that the EU can set a realistic – but more ambitious – target of at least 30% zero-emission trucks by 2028.