Trucks Archives

The scientific literature remains sceptical about trucks becoming battery-operated due to the cost and weight of large battery packs. But that could change soon as costs of battery packs continues to fall, writes Björn Nykvist.

The 'New Silk Road' has the potential to make trade between China and Europe more competitive by rail than by sea. EURACTIV Germany spoke to transport boss Alexey Grom about the development of the Eurasian railway project, the 'New Silk Road' and its expansion towards Europe.

The first overland delivery of European goods bound for China arrived safe and sound last week, in a good omen for Europe's hopes of making the East Asian superpower's ambitious Belt and Road initiative a two-way street.

European Union negotiators hauled the first ever set of rules for heavy vehicle CO2 emissions across the line early on Tuesday morning (19 February), rounding off the current generation of climate laws.

Have European manufacturers learned from developments in the car and bus markets? Or will American and Chinese companies lead the way to tomorrow's zero emission freight transport? Lucien Mathieu poses some tough questions ahead of a big decision by EU negotiators.

European Union lawmakers struck an agreement on Monday (11 February) on green public procurement rules for new buses requiring that local authorities purchase a minimum share of clean vehicles running on gas or electricity by 2025 and 2030.

Climate targets can only function if countries, cities and companies report their emissions accurately. A new project hopes to show how reporting should be done, but building trust looks set to play a huge part in overcoming the challenge.

Many European countries and cities have implemented measures to promote e-mobility. But to create scale in Europe, a constellation of disconnected initiatives is not enough to drive the needed change and action must be taken at a European level, writes Folker Franz.

EU environment ministers agreed on heavy-duty vehicle CO2 emission rules on Thursday (20 December), teeing up difficult talks with the European Parliament in January.

Europe’s upcoming CO2 standards for trucks will be the first of their kind. Policymakers need to build enough flexibility into the legislation so that manufacturers can adapt as the process and technologies evolve, writes Joachim Drees.

Ethanol will have a very important role in decarbonising the transport sector globally, the executive director of the International Energy Agency (IEA) told EURACTIV.com. Another energy expert said electrification will play a major role in transport but is not applicable to all sectors, which is where biofuels come in.

Under pressure from regulators, truck makers have softened their criticism of Europe’s first-ever regulation on CO2 emissions from heavy-duty vehicles, focusing their comments on the lack of recharging infrastructure in cities and motorways.

Members of the European Parliament voted on Wednesday (14 November) to beef up a first attempt to regulate CO2 emissions from heavy vehicles, going beyond what the European Commission originally proposed.

Fully electric buses account for only 9% of urban bus sales in Europe, according to research by Transport and Environment (T&E), a green campaign group. High upfront costs are the biggest barrier to their deployment on a mass scale.

It may sound like a good thing to reward advanced fuels. But doing it under the CO2 standards for heavy duty vehicles (HDVs) would not achieve this goal and would only end up weakening EU fuel efficiency standards, says Cristina Mestre.

UPDATE: Lawmakers in the European Parliament backed a 35% cut in carbon dioxide emissions from new trucks by 2030, in a vote on Thursday (18 October) over new rules that seek to fight global warming without harming industry.

Transport accounts for nearly a quarter of the EU’s emissions and, unlike other sectors, greenhouse gases continue to rise. Trucks only make up a small part of vehicles on the roads in Europe: less than 5% of total traffic.

EU lawmakers are floating the idea of offering incentives for extra-long trucks made up of multiple trailers in the EU’s first truck CO2 legislation.

The head of the European Parliament’s environment committee has urged her MEP colleagues not to rush the adoption of new EU rules on heavy-duty vehicle emissions, casting doubt on whether the Third Mobility Package can be finalised under this current Parliament.

EU lawmakers are currently tinkering with the European Commission’s first attempt to regulate heavy-duty vehicle CO2 emissions. But a debate is now raging about how strict those cuts should be and how soon they should be enforced.

Transport is responsible for a quarter of the EU's total emissions, and 25% of that comes from heavy-duty vehicles like trucks and buses. But countries are struggling to bring the levels down and it remains unclear what is the best way to go about taming such a problematic sector.

Europe must stop selling new petrol, diesel and conventional hybrid cars by 2028 in order to stand a better chance of honouring the Paris Agreement’s most ambitious target, according to a new study.

The European Commission’s proposal to mandate a 15% cut in CO2 emission from trucks by 2025 is overly ambitious, according to industry association ACEA, which said a 7% objective would be more “realistic” given the technologies currently available.