Road freight businesses are “committed to emissions reduction”, but support from government and freight customers will be essential overcoming regulatory and cost barriers.
That’s according to road freight body Transporting New Zealand in response to an an industry survey commissioned by Ministry of Transport titled Heavy-vehicle Operator Understanding: Survey and Combined Quantitative and Qualitative Report.
The objective of the research was to help government understand the operational and financial factors that heavy-vehicle operators consider when deciding what heavy vehicles to use, especially when adding new trucks to their fleets or replacing old trucks.
The survey reported that 89% of road freight operator respondents have already started emissions reduction efforts or are open to doing so.
For the road freight businesses that have already taken tangible action, the most common methods include using newer trucks with cleaner engines, using telematics data to boost fuel efficient driving, and optimising freight routes.
Leading barriers to the adoption of battery and hydrogen trucks include practical issues such as extended recharging times, lack of recharging options and losing payload weight in order to accommodate heavy batteries.
Cost considerations including up-front price premiums, uncertain resale values, and customer reluctance to pay a premium for lower-emission services are also obstacles to electric vehicle adoption.
Transporting NZ policy and advocacy lead Billy Clemens says the survey results showed the road freight sector is keen to decarbonise, but will require practical regulatory reform from government and support from freight customers.
“Electric trucks are significantly heavier than diesel equivalents, due to their battery weights. That’s why we’ve been advocating for updated vehicle dimension and mass rules, so more of our members can get these trucks on the road.
“We also need to see functional heavy vehicle charging and hydrogen fueling networks, to open up more routes.
“While battery electric and hydrogen trucks are still in their infancy, transport firms will also require government grants, such as EECA’s Low Emissions Heavy Vehicle Fund, to reduce the sticker-shock of battery, hydrogen and hybrid vehicles.
“Battery electric trucks are two to three times the price of internal combustion equivalents, without accounting for their practical limitations. In the current economic environment, with heavy vehicle traffic down 2.5% on last year, that’s a very tough ask for our members.
“Freight customers also have an important part to play, by being prepared to pay a premium in order to support practical decarbonisation measures. As a low-margin industry, dominated by small and medium sized businesses, the road freight sector needs the support of their customers to achieve meaningful emissions reductions,” Clemens says.
The Ministry of Transport survey results also highlight the importance of more accessible decarbonisation methods, including safe and fuel-efficient driver training, incentivising the uptake of higher productivity diesel trucks through accelerated depreciation, and good fleet maintenance and monitoring.
“Hydrogen and electric vehicles are going to play a key role in road freight decarbonisation in the medium and long term, but it’s early days,” Clemens adds.
Of the 140,000 trucks operating in New Zealand, the latest MoT fleet data shows there were 173 battery electric trucks in the fleet, according to its Annual Motor Vehicle Fleet Statistics 2022.
“Right now, supporting the efficient operation of the existing fleet, and getting more efficient and cleaner internal combustion powered trucks on the road will yield the best results. That’s what we’ll continue to advocate for,” he says.
