With the EU's environmental requirements regarding passenger cars reduced, the new front of the automotive industry in the community objective of reducing carbon dioxide emissions has to do with trucks and heavy vehicles.
They are responsible for 21% of Spain's emissions and also the subject of a new regulation that the Government will present on October 16 as part of the EU presidency. The file, the manufacturers indicate, is now handled by the Ministry of Ecological Transition and not the Ministry of Industry, and the intention is to tighten it.
"We are facing gigantic and accelerated pressure," said today the general director of the Anfac manufacturers' association, José López-Tafall, during the presentation of the Industrial Vehicle and Bus Roadmap until 2026, in which he emphasized the implications of an activity responsible for 85% of freight traffic in Spain.
The companies warn that meeting the objectives can only be possible if measures are implemented such as direct aid for the purchase of sustainable vehicles or more benign taxation. "The objectives cannot be met in any way or in any way. We must take into account what reality we are acting on," indicated López-Tafall.
The president of Anfac, Wayne Griffiths, has called for "realistic measures to support the sector by reducing emissions without losing competitiveness." He has also warned that the change in passenger cars is different from that of trucks and buses, in which a distinction must be made between last mile, urban area and long distance.
The objectives of the EU roadmap, known as Fit for 55, involve reducing emissions from commercial vehicles by 25% in 2025 and then raising the percentage, in 2030, between 30% and 45%, depending on what the EU decides during this semester.
"We will only be able to achieve these percentages if we work hand in hand and together," said the president of Iveco Spain, Ángel Rodríguez Lagunilla. Although to a lesser extent than cars, trucks also suffer the "latent risk" of an "invasion of Asian vehicles."
Anfac estimates that road transport employs 600,000 people and almost half of all goods leaving Spain. 90% of trucks are diesel and this percentage reaches 100% in buses over 7.5 tons.
To meet current objectives, in 2026 around 10% would have to run on gas and 3.4% on electricity. "We are talking about doubling or tripling market shares just to reach the European level," warned the general director of Anfac.
Added to this is the profile of a truck owner, who "not only needs to decarbonize", but also requires "competitiveness" and who "has the vehicle as a work tool", López-Tafall recalled.
The measures proposed by Anfac revolve around seven axes, among which direct aid and taxation stand out. The association wants the Government to extend aid of 400 million for fleet renewal and for its collection to occur at the time of acquiring the truck.
It also calls for deductions in corporate tax, a flexible fleet depreciation mechanism and an exemption from the electricity tax on vehicle recharging.
Added to these measures are others such as the installation of charging points for heavy vehicles powered by electricity, a commitment to connectivity and "minimal coordination" between administrations regarding the mobility model.
