The Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders (SMMT) is calling for a government HGV infrastructure strategy to address the absence of public truck-dedicated charging and hydrogen filling points on UK roads.
It says the current lack of public truck charging points is acting as a barrier to hauliers looking to invest in zero-tailpipe-emission trucks, and risks hindering the UK’s ambitious decarbonisation plans.
The SMMT is also calling for financial support in terms of incentives for hauliers looking to invest in the cleanest trucks. It says the UK lags behind some other European countries in this respect, and just eight of the 20 zero-tailpipe-emission truck models on the market are eligible for the Plug-in Truck Grant.
It says HGV manufacturers are investing heavily in a broad range of electric and hydrogen models, yet they currently account for just one in 600 trucks on UK roads.
“With just over a decade until the UK begins to phase out new diesel trucks, we cannot afford to delay a strategy that will deliver the world’s first decarbonised HGV sector,” said Mike Hawes (pictured), SMMT chief executive, on the opening morning of the Commercial Vehicle Show in Birmingham. “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. 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 – a plan that will keep a greener Britain on the move and globally competitive.”
