A shared mission is needed for heavy fleet decarbonisation

The pathway for decarbonising mobility is becoming clearer, but the pace of development remains uncertain. That was the message from UK Director of Transport & Environment (T&E) Richard Hebditch at the 2023 London Climate Technology Show. The event itself took place one week after the UK government announced a five-year delay to its ban on the sale of new internal combustion engine (ICE) light vehicles. However, this is only part of a larger trend.

A wave of resistance to the transition has been present across Europe and the US. In late 2022, Italy’s Transport Minister Matteo Salvini denounced the EU’s 2035 ban on ICE as a threat to the economy. Former US President Donald Trump echoed these sentiments to a crowd in Detroit the following September. Meanwhile, in Germany, Volkswagen cut staff and electric vehicle (EV) production at its Emden plant in July 2023, citing “strong customer reluctance” to switch from ICE.

With light vehicle electrification clearly coming under political pressure, how could this affect the highly nuanced heavy-duty vehicle sector?