The government has launched a public consultation looking at how to increase the number of zero emission trucks on UK roads, cut CO₂ emissions from new diesel HGVs, and how best to phase out the sale of diesel trucks up to 26 tonnes by 2035 and the sale of all new non-zero emission HGVs by 2040.
The consultation, which is being led by the DfT and the Office for Zero Emission Vehicles (OZEV), is calling for comment from vehicle manufacturers, fleet operators, logistics providers and other stakeholders across the freight sector.
Its findings will be used to create a new regulatory framework designed to reduce CO₂ emissions from HGVs and is part of the government’s wider aim to meet its legally binding Net Zero target by 2050.
The consultation, which runs to 17 March this year, also builds on the government’s existing commitments to end the sale of new non-zero emission HGVs weighing up to 26 tonnes by 2035, and all new non-zero emission HGVs by 2040.
Industry views are being sought on a range of possible approaches, including CO₂ emissions performance standards for manufacturers, options to mandate increasing sales of zero-emission HGVs, and alternative mechanisms that could encourage faster adoption while allowing flexibility for specialist and hard-to-decarbonise vehicles.
Introducing the consultation, Transport Minister Keir Mather MP pointed to the environmental impact of trucks. He said: “Their exhausts emit 16% of greenhouse gas emissions and 5% of NOx emissions from domestic transport in the UK.
“That is why we are firmly committed to accelerating the transition to clean technologies and to setting a path to phase out the sale of all new non-zero emission heavy goods vehicles up to and including 26 tonnes by 2035, and all new non-zero emission heavy goods vehicles by 2040.”
However, he acknowledged the obstacles to achieving this goal. He said: “Some HGVs may be challenging to shift towards zero-emission, particularly those that drive long distances, carry very heavy loads, or have demanding mission profiles.
“To address this, we are open to views on which phase-out date should apply to challenging-to-decarbonise HGVs.”
He added: “Heavy-goods vehicles are, by their very nature, significantly more challenging to decarbonise than cars and vans. They drive further and require more power to deliver this range as a zero-emission technology.
“While the public charging infrastructure for heavy goods vehicles is growing fast, it’s not sufficient today to meet the daily driving range of our long-haul vehicles.
“While the market for zero-emission heavy-goods vehicles is growing rapidly in our neighbouring countries – driven in part by stricter regulation –without action, the UK risks falling behind.”
Commenting on the consultation, Lamech Solomon, Logistics UK head of decarbonisation policy, raised widespread industry concerns about the methods by which HGVs will be decarbonised.
He said: “The government needs to decide whether its primary focus is electrification or on achieving efficient decarbonisation through a broad range of technologies – using low carbon fuel (LCF) reduces greenhouse gas emissions by up to 80% so can have an instant impact in achieving the country’s decarbonisation objectives, despite not being classified as ‘zero emission’.
“The logistics sector recognises zero tailpipe emission HGVs are the long-term goal, but for an industry that operates on slim margins, the cost of electrifying fleets is currently considered prohibitive.
“The high cost of battery electric HGVs, insufficient public charging infrastructure in addition to costs and time associated with installing grid upgrades are blocking progress on decarbonisation.
“As part of Logistics UK’s recent road freight decarbonisation report, research found that 80% of survey respondents are unable to install charging infrastructure with sufficient capacity at their operation sites.
“The government needs to adopt a truly technology-neutral approach to decarbonising HGVs and all viable pathways, including LCF and other solutions must be considered: LCF is complementary to battery electric vehicles and until zero tailpipe emission options are commercially viable for all use cases, LCF will be vital to the HGV fleet.”
Transport consultant Des Evans told MT this week that a major challenge to decarbonisation is the prohibitive cost of electrifying fleets.
He said: “If the government and the industry are serious about decarbonising road freight through the electrification of the HGV sector, then around £24bn will be required to transition the 200,000 HGVs that are currently operating as 26-tonne-plus ICE vehicles.
“That £24bn would need to be made available over the next 14 years, up to 2040, when legislation mandates the banning of internal combustion engines for vehicles over 26 tonnes. This equates to £1.7bn per annum, which is almost 100 times more than what is currently on offer.”
Stakeholders have until 17 March 2026 to submit their responses. The consultation and ways to respond can be found here.
