Nearly four years after the UK Government set out its plan to end the sale of non zero emission heavy commercial vehicles (HCVs) by 2035 and 2040, depending on weight, a stark reality remains: heavy vehicles are lagging far behind passenger cars in the transition to zero emission. While cars have benefited from clear policy signals, rapidly improving technology and expanding infrastructure, trucks and buses face a more complex challenge.
Published: 23 March 2026
Authors: Chris Pritchett
At a recent panel discussion at SMMT Electrified, bringing together vehicle manufacturers, fleet operators, infrastructure providers and legal experts, one question framed the debate: are we fast running out of time to decarbonise heavy commercial vehicles?
The answer, perhaps unsurprisingly, was nuanced. Moderator of the panel, Shoosmiths Partner and E&I sector co-lead, Chris Prtichett, explores the key themes emerging from the discussion:
Buses: A rare UK success story
In contrast to much of the heavy vehicle market, zero emission buses represent a bright spot. According to Chris Gall, Engineering Director at Alexander Dennis, the UK is now the largest electric bus market in Europe, with more than 27 percent of buses expected to be zero emission in 2025.
This progress has been driven by a combination of targeted government funding, most notably the Zero Emission Bus Regional Areas (ZEBRA) schemes, and improving commercial fundamentals. Crucially, bus operators are now finding that battery electric buses make sense on a total cost of ownership basis over their typical 20 year asset life.
Buses also benefit from operational characteristics that simplify electrification: fixed routes, predictable daily mileage and overnight depot parking. These factors reduce range anxiety and make charging infrastructure easier to deploy, particularly for large operators and local authorities under new franchising models.
However, challenges remain for smaller operators, for whom access to charging infrastructure and capital remains a barrier. For them, the transition increasingly depends on innovative funding models and service based procurement approaches.
Trucks: Technology ready, system not yet
In the truck sector, the picture is far more mixed. Amy Stokes, Decarbonisation Director at Volvo Trucks UK and Ireland, was clear that from a manufacturing perspective, the technology is already here. Volvo and other OEMs have offered full electric truck ranges for several years, and real world deployments show the vehicles can perform.
What is holding the market back is not vehicle availability, but system readiness.
Infrastructure, particularly access to affordable, reliable power, is the dominant constraint. While a single electric truck charging overnight may be manageable, scaling electrification across a fleet fundamentally changes the economics. Grid connection costs, long lead times and uncertainty over future power availability make strategic planning difficult.
Stokes also highlighted a less obvious but critical issue: securing power not just for today, but for the future. Without confidence that depots can access sufficient electricity in five or ten years’ time, fleet operators struggle to commit to long term electrification strategies.
As a result, electric trucks still account for less than one percent of annual registrations, far behind the trajectory required to meet 2035 targets.
Fleet reality: Productivity and contracts matter
From the operator perspective, Ian Macaulay, Decarbonisation Programme Lead at DHL Supply Chain, underscored the importance of productivity and customer alignment. DHL operates around 4,500 heavy goods vehicles in the UK and has already decarbonised 34 percent of its fuel use through alternatives such as HVO, biomethane and bio LNG.
These fuels have enabled rapid emissions reductions at scale without compromising operations, a key consideration in a sector with tight margins and demanding customers.
While DHL is trialling electric rigid and articulated trucks, Macaulay acknowledged the difficulty of making heavy battery electric vehicles stack up economically today. In some cases, electricity costs at depots exceed diesel equivalents, even before accounting for higher vehicle capital costs.
A further structural challenge is contract length. With typical logistics contracts lasting around three years, it is hard for operators to justify long term investment in vehicles, charging infrastructure and grid upgrades. Longer customer commitments, Macaulay argued, would unlock investment and accelerate decarbonisation.
Infrastructure: Building ahead of demand
Infrastructure provider Voltempo, represented by Corporate Development Director Michael Boxwell, is attempting to break this chicken and egg cycle. As part of the government funded Zero Emission Heavy Goods Vehicles and Infrastructure Demonstrator programme, Voltempo and its consortium partners have deployed both vehicles and high power charging infrastructure at shared depot locations.
A key strategic choice has been to build ahead of demand: installing more charging capacity than initially required and deploying megawatt scale chargers before vehicles fully arrive. This approach reduces future disruption and gives fleet operators confidence that infrastructure will not become a bottleneck as they scale.
Early results are encouraging. Operators running electric trucks for a year or more are gaining confidence and beginning to expand fleets. Long distance trials, including routes from the UK into Germany and France, have demonstrated that cross border electric freight is technically feasible, even if operational challenges remain.
The biggest obstacle, once again, is grid access. Delays of several years are common, forcing some operators to deploy temporary microgrids and battery buffering to keep projects moving.
Are we running out of time?
Despite the challenges, the panel stopped short of declaring the transition at risk. Stokes emphasised that 2035 is an end of sale date, not a ban on existing vehicles, giving operators time to integrate zero emission technologies into fleet renewal cycles.
However, there was broad agreement that time has been wasted, and that delays now will compress pressure later. Grid availability, vehicle weight and dimension regulations, and energy pricing will all determine whether the transition can scale fast enough.
What needs to change: A policy wish list
When asked what policymakers must prioritise, several themes emerged:
- faster and more predictable grid connections, with better coordination between transport and energy policy
- reform of vehicle weights and dimensions so electric trucks are not penalised with reduced payload
- stronger financial signals, whether incentives for zero emission vehicles or disincentives for high carbon options
- support for multi technology pathways, including transitional fuels such as biomethane and bio LNG
- investment in resilient UK and European supply chains to reduce geopolitical risk
- greater energy price stability to give operators confidence in long term operating costs
On hydrogen, the panel was pragmatic. While most agreed it may have a role in the longer term for specific use cases, battery electric is the only solution ready to scale now. Without affordable green hydrogen and widespread infrastructure, hydrogen trucks remain a future option rather than a present solution.
The verdict
The consensus was clear: we are not out of time, but we are out of slack. Heavy commercial vehicles can decarbonise at pace, but only if infrastructure, policy and commercial structures align quickly. The technology exists and the learning is happening. What is needed now is decisive, joined up action to turn pilots into mass adoption.
As one panellist put it, the industry must avoid letting perfect get in the way of much better. The road to zero may not be straight, but it needs to be travelled faster and together.