Embracing opportunities and protecting business on the road to net zero.
When HGVs account for around 6% of overall UK greenhouse 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.
Recognising that decarbonising HGVs and coaches is complex, our approach is pragmatic and our aim is to support the commercial vehicle sector with the knowledge they need to make investment decisions that are consistent with the net zero objectives defined by the Westminster and devolved parliaments.
The phase-out dates for new diesel HGVs, as announced by the UK Government 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 Hydrogen 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.
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.
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