The European Union is tightening the screws on vehicle emissions, pushing for greener road transport, yet the transition to electromobility is crawling at a snail’s pace. Take Germany, for instance. Despite the EU’s ambitious regulations, the electric transformation of its transport sector is lagging woefully behind. As of July 2023, a staggering 800,000 trucks are registered in Germany, but only 528 of those are electric. That’s a minuscule 0.006 percent of the entire truck fleet. It’s a drop in the bucket, and the implications are significant.
Dirk Engelhardt, spokesperson for the BGL board of directors, shed light on the situation when he told Reuters, “We have a few large companies that occasionally buy one or two electric trucks, but these are mainly ‘demonstration projects.’” This paints a clear picture: while the big players might dip their toes in the electric truck waters, the real heavy lifting is being ignored. Medium-sized companies, which account for over 80 percent of the transport sector, are sitting on the sidelines, hesitant to invest in electric vehicles.
Why the hesitation? Well, it boils down to a mix of high costs and inadequate infrastructure. The BGL has raised alarm bells about the energy infrastructure needed to support electric trucks. The current power lines simply aren’t built to handle the high energy demand that a fleet of electric trucks would require. Furthermore, the approval process for new high-voltage lines drags on for years, stalling any potential progress. Engelhardt emphasizes that electric trucks can only be considered truly climate-friendly if they are charged with 100 percent green electricity.
To put this into perspective, Engelhardt highlighted the colossal scale of the challenge: “To provide enough green energy for the transport sector alone, we would need 187,500 additional wind turbines or 61 nuclear power plants in Germany.” Yet, as of now, Germany has no nuclear power plants and fewer than 29,000 wind turbines. With the current electricity mix—50 percent renewable energy—a diesel truck emits no more CO2 than an electric truck, which is around 65 kg of carbon dioxide per 100 kilometers.
The European Commission’s target to reduce CO2 emissions from new vehicles by 45 percent by 2030 compared to 2019 is commendable, but it feels like a pie-in-the-sky goal without the necessary groundwork. For these ambitious targets to materialize, European countries must roll up their sleeves and invest in robust energy and charging infrastructure. Moreover, providing companies with investment subsidies is critical to incentivizing the shift towards electric vehicles.
If the EU wants to lead the charge in the green transport revolution, it must address these foundational issues head-on. It’s not just about setting targets; it’s about creating an ecosystem that supports those targets. The clock is ticking, and the stakes are high. The future of transport in Europe hangs in the balance, and it’s time for action, not just words.
