DAF predicts big shift in goods transport 09 December 2022

The shift to zero emission alternatives is more challenging as, whilst we are becoming ever more aware of the massive cost of not shifting

The next ten years could see the biggest shift in goods transport since the development of the internal combustion engine, said DAF Trucks managing director Laurence Drake.

Speaking at DAF’s Press Christmas Dinner in London, he said the move from horse and steam power to petrol and diesel alternatives a hundred years ago progressed relatively smoothly as their enhanced productivity encouraged a change that would in turn see a refuelling network.

“The shift to zero emission alternatives is more challenging as, whilst we are becoming ever more aware of the massive cost of not shifting, we have yet to find a way to attribute environmental costs to the movement of goods. But what we can’t afford to do is ignore the cost – to do so will affect nothing less important than our way of life, our livelihoods, the lives of our children and, ultimately, all life on earth.

“Now, this afternoon we are not going to try to predict which technology will win out. Or when the cost of operating electric trucks will be less than diesel. Or when exactly an operator should make the switch. There are way too many variables over which we at DAF have no influence or even knowledge of at this stage. We don’t know future diesel prices. Or electricity prices. We don’t know how The Treasury will react to a loss in fuel duty from diesel. We don’t know if or when zero emission zones will spring up in UK cities. We don’t know exactly what incentives might be deployed to encourage EV uptake.

“Without this knowledge we can only guess how progressive a transition might be. With careful attention to incentives and favourable energy prices we could see a gradual increase in EV uptake, but without, we could see the 2035 and 2040 end-of-sale dates for non-zero emission vehicles being a cliff edge. And incidentally, this is one reason why we would like to see renewable energy given more prominence in UK Government’s thinking. Not only are alternatives like HVO making a vast reduction to net CO2 emissions from road transport when compared to fossil diesel, they are also less carbon intense than electricity which today, of course, is primarily generated from fossil fuels.”

Author
Transport Engineer

Related Companies
DAF Trucks Ltd

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