Exit from Combustion Engines for Trucks too: EU Parliament Adopts Ambitious Targets

The Members of the European Parliament voted in today's debate for significantly stricter requirements on the emissions of heavy-duty vehicles. Accordingly, CO2 emissions must decrease by at least 45 percent by 2030 compared to the year 2019/2020. In a next step, a further reduction of 70 percent is to be mandated from 2025. The third step follows in 2040 with a reduction of 90 percent. Additionally, the parliamentarians support that newly registered city buses should be emission-free starting from 2030.

According to the European Automobile Manufacturers' Association (ACEA), in order to achieve these goals, a complete system transformation is required in Europe, involving all public and private actors in the entire ecosystem of heavy-duty transport. For truck and bus manufacturers, the question is not whether they can decarbonize, but how quickly they can do so, explains Director General Sigrid de Vries.

“We are doing our part by providing the vehicles and technologies to make European road traffic fossil-free by 2040. However, if we fail to create the necessary framework conditions, this will not only slow down the green transformation of our sector but also jeopardize our global competitiveness.”

The manufacturers would invest billions in emission-free technologies for battery-electric and hydrogen-powered vehicles. The technology is available, and mass production is quickly ramping up. However, the lack of charging and refueling infrastructure, as well as the absence of effective CO2 pricing systems and support measures for replacing conventional models with emission-free alternatives, are major obstacles to the transition.