EU Transport Committee pushes for greater maximum weight for electric trucks

The majority of members of the Transport Committee in the EU Parliament have spoken out in favour of increasing the maximum weight and length of zero-emission trucks. The goal is to compensate for the space and weight required for batteries and hydrogen fuel cell systems, thus incentivising companies to switch to zero-emission drive systems.

Specifically, the maximum weight of zero-emission trucks will be increased by four tonnes. The committee adopted the position by 26 votes to 11 and one abstention.

“Zero-emission vehicles must become the backbone of road transport if the sector is to reach its decarbonisation objectives,” says Spanish EP rapporteur Isabel García Muñoz (S&D). “New rules will create real incentives for companies to switch to zero-emission trucks and to make road freight traffic more sustainable and safe. We want to make sure the same load can be transported with fewer vehicles, fewer trips and reduced emissions.”

The draft also proposes new rules for so-called mega trucks. These are longer and heavier than the EU limits. Suppose a member state wants to allow these on certain routes. In that case, it “should make a prior assessment on the impact of this on road safety, infrastructure, modal cooperation and the environment,” the Transport Committee writes in its press release. Moreover, the EU suggests a label clearly marking these trucks to make it apparent to other road users, i.e. when overtaking the truck.

All MEPs will vote on this draft position in an upcoming plenary session, possibly in March. The new Parliament will then pursue the issue, which is based on a proposal from the EU Commission, after the European elections in June. The latter had also proposed increasing the maximum weight of electric trucks. Moreover, it argued that technological advances will make zero-emission trucks intrinsically lighter in the future and thus “benefit from an additional payload in the longer term.”

In 2019, zero-emission trucks were already given an extra two tonnes of weight to compensate for batteries and fuel cell systems. However, that was deemed insufficient to avoid payload losses.

The new proposal by the EU’s Transport Committee comes after the EU Commission paved the way for new CO2 standards for trucks and buses in the European Union. According to these, fleet emissions from trucks over 7.5 tonnes and coaches must be reduced by 45 per cent from 2030, 65 per cent from 2035 and 90 per cent from 2040.

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