Ministers urged to lay out plan to decarbonise UK road haulage sector

Ministers must come up with a plan to help the UK road haulage sector decarbonise ahead of the phase-out of new diesel-engined vehicles in the next decade, the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders has said.

The trade body called on the government to publish a strategy by early next year detailing the rollout of charging points for heavy goods vehicles and greater purchase incentives for battery-powered lorries.

The UK does not have a single dedicated charging point for electric lorries, making it “impossible” for logistics companies to switch from diesel vehicles, it warned.

As part of the government’s drive to hit net zero by 2050, new lorries that weigh under 26 tonnes must be zero emission by 2035, while heavier vehicles, such as long-distance articulated lorries, must go green by 2040.

More than 90 per cent of the heavy goods vehicles on UK roads are under 26 tonnes, according to official data.

The 2035 date for lighter lorries is the same cut-off point as the ban on the sale of new cars with an internal combustion engine, even though the market for electric haulage trucks is “two decades behind” the one for passenger vehicles, the SMMT said.

“While investment announcements for public car charging infrastructure are gradually flowing through, there is no equivalent plan for HGV-dedicated infrastructure,” Mike Hawes, SMMT chief executive, said.

There are an estimated 40,000 public charging points for electric cars but not a single charger dedicated to heavy goods vehicles in the UK, or a hydrogen refuelling station, the SMMT said.

Large lorries need specialised recharging or refuelling areas because of the size of the vehicles. The truck industry works to a longer replacement cycle than carmakers.

While passenger cars are typically replaced every three years, flowing into a vibrant second-hand market, haulage vehicles tend to be owned once for around eight years.

The longer replacement cycle means that logistics companies and other lorry owners may only buy one more diesel model before being forced to switch to electric or hydrogen-powered vehicles, the SMMT said.

“Manufacturers are investing billions in electric and hydrogen vehicles that will deliver massive CO₂ savings, and it is vital that operators making long-term decisions today have full confidence in these technologies, that they will be commercially viable and allow them to keep costs down for consumers,” Hawes said.

“A successful transition requires a long-term plan to drive the rollout of a dedicated UK-wide HGV charging and fuelling network, combined with world-leading incentives to encourage uptake and attract model allocation.”

One of the largest problems with heavy-duty lorry charging is the enormous strain on the local grid connections, requiring significant and expensive upgrades to local power systems, or installing large numbers of batteries at the site that can be recharged slowly from the main grid.

Two years ago the government set aside £300mn to increase grid capacity at motorway service areas for electric-car charging.

The government said it was “working closely with industry to support the rollout of zero emission HGVs on our roads,” including identifying the main barriers to electric charging rollout for freight vehicles. It added that it had invested £20mn in a pilot programme for electric vans in 2021.