Embracing opportunities and protecting business on the road to net zero.
The RHA is committed to making Net Zero work and seeks to work through the technical and financial hurdles preventing implementation. To inform both our work and that of others, we seek to provide constructive and evidenced feedback
When HGVs account for around 16% of UK domestic transport emissions, we know our sector must play its part to decarbonise. Our success in improving air quality where nitrogen oxide emissions have fallen by over 70% since 2013 shows how decarbonisation can be achieved with investment in vehicle standards and new technologies.
Our end-goal is to see an adequate supply of affordable zero emission HGVs, coaches and vans via a vibrant seco-d hand market. This is to ensure our vital small and medium-sized enterprise (SME) businesses, who make up 95% of the logistics and coach sectors, can acquire the vehicles they need to thrive.
To meet this end-goal, we aim to shape the conditions that deliver a viable transition and give our membership the tools and information they need to make investment decisions that are consistent with the net zero objectives defined by the Westminster and devolved parliaments.
Guiding our approach, we have defined a high-level “roadmap” setting out how the planned new diesel HGV phase-out dates of 2035 and 2040 can be achieved.
To help our sector prepare for decarbonisation, we welcome the phase-out dates for new diesel HGVs specified by the previous Conservative Government which are:
- for HGVs under 26 tonnes gvw, from 2035
- for all HGVs, from 2040
This provides the certainty the sector needs to plan vehicle replacement cycles. At the time of writing, we await similar phase-out dates from the Government for new diesel coach sales.
We also welcome the Government’s investment in the Zero Emission and HGV Infrastructure Demonstrator (ZEHID) programme – this £200m investment will trial how battery and hydrogen fuel-cell HGVs will perform, with data arising from ZEHID helping operators plan their investments.
Many of our members are already undertaking initiatives to decarbonise their operations and improve their impact on the environment.
These include how businesses are reducing emissions from their existing vehicles as well as making their business operations more energy efficient, in many cases to attract new customers and drive further business opportunities.
Net Zero Survey on operator-readiness (2025)
In June 2025, the RHA published the results from its first industry-wide survey to understand operator readiness for Net Zero. From a starting point where the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders (SMMT) reported in April 2025 that there were fewer than 600 registered electric HGVs on UK roads, the survey was conceived with three broad aims: to understand how many fleets already have electric commercial vehicles within them; to bench-mark operator readiness to decarbonise; and inform the next set of conversations with the RHA’s key partners involved in delivering Net Zero.
We observe that, for decarbonisation to succeed, three conditions must all be in place:
- availability of zero emission vehicles for the right job
- access to energy infrastructure
- access to affordable finance
Our survey showed that, in 2025, these conditions are not yet in place for many operators.
Our survey found that 23% of HGV operators, 39% of van operators and 17% of coach operators plan to bring electric vehicles into their fleets within the next 5 years and in some cases are already using them. In addition, 12% of HGV operators planned to bring a hydrogen-powered vehicle within their fleet within the next 5 years, proving that there is demand for hydrogen-based solutions to decarbonise the commercial vehicle fleet.
However, our findings also reflect the very real challenge of meeting the UK’s Net Zero targets, with significant additional support and investment needed if planned targets are to be met. In our survey, 70% of HGV operators, 75% of coach operators and 56% of van operators reported having no plans in place to introduce zero emission vehicles into their fleets.
When asked why, operators across the different vehicle modes consistently ranked lack of vehicle mileage and cost as the main barriers preventing them from doing so as depicted in the following table.
Percentage of operators ranking cost or lack of vehicle mileage as their top barrier
|
|
Cost
|
Lack of vehicle mileage
|
|
Van operators
|
35%
|
47%
|
|
HGV operators
|
38%
|
45%
|
|
coach operators
|
45%
|
51%
|
An additional issue concerned payload loss for HGVs weighing 44 tonnes where the 2-tonne derogation to accommodate batteries does not apply. Whilst only 6% of HGV operators ranked payload loss as their top barrier, the issue was of higher importance when second choice barriers are also considered where 30% of HGV operators ranked it as their top or second barrier.
We are currently following up on the payload loss finding by running a separate survey to understand the extent and impact of the payload loss issue for operators. This will help us to have better informed conversations with the Department for Transport on whether regulated HGV weights and lengths should change to provide appropriate solutions for affected operators. If you are an HGV operator, we encourage to complete our survey which closes at 5pm of 31st October 2025 – see: https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/RHA-ElectricHGVpayloadlosssurvey-AO
Taken together, a clear message from the survey is that Net Zero must be commercially viable with costs minimised and payload loss concerns for HGV operators rectified. Vehicles which transport goods and passengers are working vehicles which must pay for themselves, and is especially critical for an industry operating on wafer-thin margins of typically 2%.
This is where the RHA will now prioritise its focus to find solutions with the UK Government and finance sector that make the transition to Net Zero commercially viable for HGV, coach and van operators.
Our Net Zero Survey report and its detailed findings can be found here
Further information
If you run a heavy commercial vehicle fleet wishing to decarbonise, you may find the following third-party websites useful. Please note that the RHA does not endorse the content of these websites – they are listed as sites that you may wish to consider.
For practical advice and tips on how to decarbonise:
For general Information about the UK’s approach to decarbonising its heavy commercial vehicle fleet, you may wish to consider the following website:
About the Zero Emission and HGV Infrastructure Demonstrator (ZEHID) programme
About the four consortia:
About Project Jolt (an independent trial of electric HGVs
About Government policy on heavy commercial vehicle decarbonisation