The letter sent by major European truckmakers to EU Commission to weaken emissions targets
The letter, signed by Scania, MAN, Volvo Trucks, Daimler, IVECO and Ford Trucks, according to T&E, has the target to "to delay Europe’s transition to zero emission trucks". "The best would be to remove these stupid fines on the industry, and rather force everyone in the system through incentives or penalties to do the job together", commented TRATON CEO Christian Levin, quoted by Reuters.
According to several sources, several European truckmakers have recently written a letter addressed to EU Commission President, Ursula von der Leyen. The letter, signed by Scania, MAN, Volvo Trucks, Daimler, IVECO and Ford Trucks, according to T&E, has the target to “to delay Europe’s transition to zero emission trucks”.
This weakening “would be a significant setback for logistics companies that are waiting for e-truck prices to come down. Rolling back on already agreed targets to produce electric trucks would create investment uncertainty for Europe’s charging infrastructure industry and risk European truckmakers losing out to Chinese competitors”, wrote T&E in an official statement.
From EU truckmakers to EU Commission, it’s all about targets
Also Reuters reported the news, adding a comment provived by Scania (and TRATON) CEO, Christian Levin. “We’re not arguing the targets are wrong… but it’s going to be very, very difficult,” said Levin, who is also the chair of the European automobile manufacturers’ association’s (ACEA) commercial vehicles board, according to Reuters.
“The best would be to remove these stupid fines on the industry, and rather force everyone in the system through incentives or penalties to do the job together,” Levin added. Although Most truckmakers are on track to meet the 2025 goal, industry leaders are worried about the current targets in view of 2030 (-45% compared to 2019), 2035 (-65% compared to 2019), and 2040 (-90%).
“Truckmakers are creating huge investment uncertainty for the charging infrastructure and power sector who need to start building grids and charging infrastructure today”, commented Stef Cornelis, freight and fleet director at T&E. “The trucking industry claims that lack of charging infrastructure is the main bottleneck but how do they expect a power company to invest if they are now rolling back on their own commitments? The European Commission should hold the line. The more Europe and our truckmakers delay the transition, the more we risk losing the market to Chinese competitors”.
