Truckmakers’ hidden carbon problem

A single truck in Europe burns through 450,000 litres of fuel during its lifetime, the same as 30 cars. Today 97.2% of HDV sales are diesel, which massively inflates the scope 3 emissions of vehicle manufacturers. T&E’s report shows that 99.8% of truckmakers’ total emissions come from its scope 3, mostly stemming from the so-called “use of sold products”. This will soon become a financial problem for them. From the 2024 financial year, all large EU companies – including truckmakers – have to publicly disclose their scope 1, 2 and 3 emissions.

This paper looks at the various tools available today to assess the carbon footprint of individual assets in the truck industry. T&E looks at the seven top market players (Volvo, Scania, Renault, MAN, IVECO, Daimler Truck and DAF) and in particular at their scope 3 emissions, the E-pillar in their ESG ratings, and their alignment with the EU taxonomy.