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    • Truckmakers must disclose fuel efficiency data to drive competition, say MEPs

    Truckmakers must disclose data about their vehicles’ fuel efficiency, including aerodynamic performance, engine, axle and transmission efficiency and rolling resistance, the European Parliament has decided in its environment committee. Sustainable transport NGO Transport & Environment (T&E) welcomed MEPs’ vote to provide more transparency, allowing hauliers to make informed purchasing decisions and driving fuel efficiency gains.

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    MEPs also said the EU’s draft law on monitoring and reporting truck fuel efficiency should require that ‘conformity of production’ testing – to check the ability to produce a series of products to specification – be reported, specifically where it impacts CO2. These results should also be made public or accessible to third parties. The European Commission’s draft law is currently being discussed by EU governments, and the Parliament environment committee’s rapporteur has been given a mandate to negotiate with Council in trilogues.

    Stef Cornelis, cleaner trucks officer at T&E, said: “We welcome that MEPs have chosen to boost innovation rather than withhold efficiency data just because some truckmakers are afraid of competition. Governments and MEPs now have to strike a deal that will lead to more transparency and competitiveness in the EU trucking sector – including making exact air drag values public. This will benefit transport operators and boost the fight against climate change.”

    MEPs also called for the Commission to propose Europe’s first ever truck CO2 standards for 2025 standards before 30 April this year. In preparation for that CO2 standard, they said an on-road test should be in the next phase of the VECTO testing procedure – and that the new law require the on-road data be made public. The environment’s committee report echoed the demands made by hauliers from across Europe and logistics giant Schenker France SAS in a letter to the EU climate and industry commissioners last year.

    Hauliers spend on average €32,000 a year per truck on fuel. Meanwhile, fuel consumption hasn’t improved over the last 20 years: a truck from 2015 still consumes roughly the same amount of fuel as a 1995 truck. Trucks represent less than 5% of all vehicles on the road in Europe but are responsible for around a quarter of road transport’s greenhouse gas emissions.