Heavy duty vehicles

Heavy-duty vehicles are responsible for approximately a quarter of CO2 emissions from road transport in the EU. Emissions in this sector have increased every year since 2014, dropping only in 2020 because of the COVID-19 pandemic. For trucks, the primary cause of this trend is a growing demand for freight transport. It is partly offset by the improved energy efficiency of road freight transport. To contribute to the goal of a climate-neutral EU, a combination of changes is needed, including faster improvements in energy efficiency, a shift to vehicles with lower emissions and/or more efficient transport modes.

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What is the environmental impact of Europe's reliance on heavy duty vehicles (HDVs)? In the EU-28, HDVs are currently responsible for 27 % of road transport carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions. Since 1990 these emissions have increased by 25 % and, in the absence of new policies, they are projected to further increase. However, society is also greatly reliant on HDVs; they transport people and goods, connect people and industries, and contribute to Europe's societal and economic development. This briefing discusses the HDV sector and its impact on CO2 emissions, and looks at Europe’s next steps towards reducing CO2 emissions from HDVs.

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Financial incentives set by Member States, such as taxes, can drive reductions in average CO2 emissions from new passenger cars in Europe. This briefing describes how these measures affect the sales of vehicles with lower CO2 emissions and examines the extent to which differences in average CO2 emissions between countries may be attributable to differences in the taxation and incentives systems in place.

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