Are you interested in this type of news?
Delivered directly to your inbox. Delivered once a week.
The market survey comes as the European Union prepares to issue The largest fine ever imposed by the cartel on Europe’s largest truck makers for alleged price fixing and delays in introducing air pollution control technologies was imposed between 1997 and 2011. During that period, too, the fuel efficiency of new trucks and CO2 emissions improved little. (1) CO2 emissions are directly related to the fuel economy of internal combustion engine vehicles, with more fuel-efficient vehicles emitting fewer greenhouse gases. The EU truck market is dominated by five companies: the Volkswagen Group (MAN and Scania), the Volvo Group (Volvo and Renault), Mercedes-Benz, DAF and Iveco.
William Todts, Director of Freight at the Sustainable Transport, Transport & Environment Group, said: “It should come as no surprise that seven out of eight fleet managers don’t think another brand can help them save fuel. New truck fuel economy has been stagnant for 20 years now. The ongoing emissions cartel affair shows how comfortable the market has been, to the detriment of its customers and the environment.”
Although trucks account for less than 5% of all road vehicles, they are responsible for 25% of fuel consumption and carbon emissions in road transport. Meeting the EU’s 2030 climate targets, as well as the more challenging goals of the Paris Agreement, will require significant efforts in the road freight sector.
William Todts concluded: “What the market alone can achieve can only be achieved through stagnation. The European Commission must commit to truck fuel efficiency legislation and set a timetable for its implementation as part of the EU’s strategy to decarbonise road transport by 2016. Otherwise, European trucks will not be able to compete with US and Japanese trucks in the race to comply with CO2 standards in their markets.”
Note to editors:
(1) International Council on Clean Transportation, Overview of the heavy vehicle market and CO2 emissions in the European Union, 2015.
https://www.theicct.org/sites/default/files/publications/ICCT_EU-HDV_mkt-…
