Trucks with combustion engines will still be able to be registered in the EU after 2035. A possible phase-out will be in 2040 at the earliest, according to an internal Commission document on the revision of CO2 fleet limits for heavy-duty vehicles. This document was made available by Euractiv. The EU Commission’s proposals will be published on February 14, 2022. The document, which has now been leaked, leaves the targets for reducing CO2 emissions until 2029 unchanged. The report says no exact figures have yet been set for the period after that.
The proposal defines three reporting periods with emissions reduction targets yet to be defined for 2030 to 2034, 2035 to 2039, and 2040 onward. According to the report, a potential emissions reduction target of 100 percent, which would amount to a ban on new diesel trucks, would be set for 2040 at the earliest. “If it came at all,” the report says.
“With an 18-year average life span of trucks in Europe, 2040 would be too late for the climate,” Freight Manager Fedor Unterlohner of Transport & Environment (T&E) told EURACTIV. “A tightening of the target by 2025 is simply unrealistic due to the market maturity of technologies and the lead time requirements,” said a spokesperson for the German car industry association VDA. The VDA also urged faster infrastructure expansion for battery-electric trucks and heavy commercial vehicles with hydrogen fuel cells.
Source: Euroactiv