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Volta Trucks said the announcement of a ban on sales of petrol and diesel vans and cars by 2030 must be extended to HGVs due to their contribution to global warming.

Rob Fowler, chief executive of the all-electric truck manufacturer, said he was disappointed there was no mention in the government’s ‘green industrial revolution’ proposals on diesel powered lorries: “Legacy internal combustion engine trucks are a disproportionately large contributor to greenhouse gasses and air pollution that’s proven to be a significant contributor to many thousands of premature deaths every year in our major towns and cities, where air quality is at its worst,” he said.

“Governments and legislators need to take a holistic approach to the climate change emergency we face and remove all polluting vehicles from our roads.

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“Commercial vehicles form the lifeblood of city centre commerce, so society needs goods vehicles, but it also needs good vehicles: vehicles that are zero emissions.”

Meanwhile, Gasrec said the results published by the Low Vehicle Carbon Partnership (LowVCP) into low emission vehicles in road transport showed the significant environmental and financial benefits of gas over diesel, particularly in long-haul applications.

The Low Emissions Freight Trial report showed biomethane trucks could achieve ‘well-to-wheel’ greenhouse gas savings of between 69%-81%.

LNG-powered HGVs achieved savings of 8%-14%.

James Westcott, Gasrec chief commercial officer, said: “The trial found the additional capital and maintenance costs for gas trucks compared to diesel can be recouped in just two years, thanks to the lower cost of fuel, based on a vehicle covering 160,000 km/year.”

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