The European Automobile Manufacturers’ Association (ACEA) has issued a public statement following the latest Transport Council report on 5 June, in which no further action was taken regarding the revision of the Weights and Dimensions Directive. The lobby group urges the Council to conclude negotiations to make the truckmakers’ lives easier about the EU’s 2030 CO2 targets.
The Weights & Dimensions Directive is the European regulation regarding the weight and size limits of heavy-duty vehicles. The plan is to adjust these limits for electric trucks, giving them more leeway to level the playing field with diesel vehicles, which currently have an advantage in terms of payload due to the lack of heavy batteries.
Waiting on the Council to agree
The European Commission has already reached an agreement, and last year, the Parliament followed, allowing heavier road transport combinations to cross borders – albeit without differentiating between diesel and electric trucks. However, negotiations between member states of the European Council have not been progressing to sign the revision into law.
The ACEA warns that the lack of action will undermine the market adoption of zero-emission trucks and buses, as diesel vehicles will remain the cheaper and more productive option. By 2030, the EU has mandated that at least one-third of new heavy-duty vehicles be zero-emission. Without the revised rules, the ACEA says, achieving the CO2 targets will not be possible.
“Zero-emission trucks and buses are essential to Europe’s shift toward climate-neutral road transport,” said Thomas Fabian, ACEA’s Chief Commercial Vehicles Officer. “But without a swift agreement on revising the weights and dimensions rules, the market for these vehicles will remain severely limited.
Member states must break the current deadlock and provide the political momentum needed to agree on a meaningful update of the rules swiftly.”
