With an increasing number of electric vans in Europe, all European capitals could introduce zero-emission freight zones by 2030 and have enough made-in-Europe e-vans to meet the requirements, new analysis (link here) shows.
By 2026, there will be more e-van models available than diesel and petrol ones, and battery-electric vans will be cheaper to buy than their diesel counterparts by 2027. Between 2025 and 2030, 3.9 million e-vans are projected to be sold in the EU and UK.
This would be more than enough to allow all 27 EU capitals, as well as London, to implement zero-emission zones for freight, new analysis by Transport & Environment and the Clean Cities Campaign shows.
The impacted fleets — ie fleets with over 100 vans — would absorb only 32% of the total domestic supply.
If zero-emission zones were extended to cover fleets above 50 or even 20 vans, there would still be enough e-vans available to supply all 28 cities. This means that all European capitals could be free of large petrol and diesel van fleets by 2030.
The report goes on to say that 35 such zones are already planned for the 2030s, with 19 coming into force in 2025. The majority of these zones are designed as zero-emission freight zones, meaning e-vans will increasingly take centre stage on our streets.
The new, more stringent EU ambient air quality directive (AAQD), which will take effect in 2030, will require cities to take additional action and consider such zones as a priority measure in case of expected air pollution limit exceedances.
Electric vans will be key to the decarbonisation of city centres. Zero-emission zones — areas in which only active mobility and emission-free vehicles are permitted — are gaining in popularity in Europe as a means to tackle air pollution.
Michelle Gardner, Logistics UK’s Deputy Director – Policy said: “Our members are committed to making the transition to zero emission vans but significant challenges remain, including higher upfront vehicle costs, lack of charging infrastructure suitable for commercial vehicles and loss of payload. To support operators move swiftly to zero emission vans, the sector needs to the right policies and incentives to aid the transition.
“Logistics UK has been calling for an agreed and co-created logistics roadmap to net zero to help support the industry, and as a partner of the Zero Emission Van Plan (link), we have been seeking urgent steps from government, including removing regulatory barriers, to help more fleets transition to EVs.”
“A simple legislative change would be to align 4.25 tonne electric vans with 3.5 tonne diesel vans. The batteries in electric vans make them heavier than the equivalent sized diesel vans, meaning operators that make the switch are exposed to more expensive MOTs, additional training costs and drivers’ hours rules designed for HGVs.
“Aligning electric and diesel vans would help remove the regulatory barriers that are currently limiting the uptake of electric commercial vehicles.”
