Electric truck industry advances as EU cuts tolls

Europe's electric trucking industry is likely to advance rapidly after EU ministers greenlit plans to cut tolls by 50pc for emission-free trucks until April 2023, while major automakers increase investment in large electric fleets.

Earlier this week, EU transport ministers greenlit plans to cut tolls by 50pc for trucks that are electrified or run on hydrogen, while individual member states can provide discounts of up to 100pc until 2025. Hauliers' annual tolling costs can reach up to €25,000 ($30,190) per truck, EU-backed research group Transport and Environment (T&E) said.

While much of the electrification is focused on passenger cars, large-scale vehicles such as trucks are often seen as one of the most important areas to electrify, given the length of time a single truck can spend on the road. Trucks account for 23pc of all road transport emissions in the EU, T&E said, but currently electric trucks make up only 0.01pc of the 6.6mn medium and heavy-use vehicles on Europe's roads, European Automotive Manufacturers' Association (ACEA) data show.

The EU's decision to cut tolls comes as further private investment in electric trucks starts to take hold. Major players such as Volvo and Daimler are offering a wider range of heavy-duty vehicles to haulage firms already, with the former selling a complete range of battery electric trucks for distribution in Europe.

Volvo said that its new trucks have a gross combination weight of 44t and an expected range of 300km, depending on the battery configuration. While sales will begin next year, volume production will start in 2022, it said.

But unlike many major passenger car sellers that aim to move all-electric by 2030, Volvo plans to still offer diesel and petrol engines until the end of its transition period in 2040.

German auto giant Daimler plans to offer all-electric trucks by 2022 as part of its plan to become more sustainable. Last week, Daimler's board approved a €70bn plan to move towards electrification and digitisation between 2021 and 2025.

Earlier today, the firm said that it would be working with American-German chemical firm Linde on a liquid hydrogen refuelling technology to be used in some of Daimler's trucks, aiming for a prototype of the vehicle by 2023.

Further investments are being made in the US, where haulage is a major contributor of emissions. According to the country's Environmental Protection Agency, heavy and medium-duty trucks account for 23pc of greenhouse gas emissions but only make up 6pc of all vehicles on the road.

But uptake, albeit slow, is rising. Wood Mackenzie estimates that 54,000 electric trucks will be on American roads by 2025, up from 2000 last year.

Volvo has already launched electric trucks for use in the US, such as the Volvo VNR Electric, which was made commercially available last week. Newer firms such as Tesla are also launching trucks to be made in 2021, with orders already being taken from the likes of Walmart and Pepsi for Tesla's Semi, which will be produced in Texas. General Motors last month signed a memorandum of understanding with Tesla rival Nikola for its semi-trucks, with a prototype scheduled for 2022.

By Yusuf Khan