Protection of the environment and the improvement of air quality are important objectives for the automotive suppliers industry. From the conception to the production, suppliers strive to make their products and services ever more environmentally friendly and energy efficient.
Technological improvements to reduce CO2 emissions from HDVs will continue. to be developed in several areas including: diesel engine efficiency, turbocharging, aerodynamics, hybridisation (even for long-haul), efficiency of auxiliaries and components, heat recovery, intelligent systems linking vehicles to navigation data, light-weighting.
CLEPA believes that the CO2 reduction potential of HDVs must be assessed in detail, and that an extrapolation based on existing studies on passenger cars is not possible and the reduction potential could be increased through Intelligent Transport Systems and through other logistic concepts e.g. European Modular Systems (EMS).
It is vital to get the measurement method right. A measurement method that only focuses on the engine or a small selection of points risks not being representative of real-world CO2 emissions from HDVs. An EU-wide standardised CO2 measurement method will increase transparency in the HDV market and further stimulate competition for efficient HDVs.
Given that total costs of ownership (TCO) and hence efficiency are already a key factor in HDV purchase decisions, a thorough investigation is required to what extent CO2 limitation legislation would be appropriate. Policymakers can and should support the market penetration of innovative efficiency technologies by improving their TCO, for example through CO2-based taxation and road tolls.
In any case, politics should not focus on only one technology when seeking improvements of air quality, but consider a broader range of technologies including the clean and efficient internal combustion engine, electrification and different hybrid concepts (electric and other). A technology-neutral approach must be pursued.
There is additional potential via both increased efficiency of the internal combustion engine and increasing market shares of alternative powertrain vehicles. CLEPA members are committed to remaining leaders in CO2 reduction.
There are reasons to believe that a linear continuation of currently demanded reductions will not be possible after 2020. This is, among other things, linked to the costs and market penetration of alternative technologies and the fact that the physical potential of efficiency gains is asymptotic.
The European Commission should take into account the current and likely future industrial strengths of European automotive suppliers in setting future targets. A transparent stakeholder process must be followed before setting future targets.
As far as the integration of the transport sector in the European Emissions Trading Scheme (ETS) is concerned, CLEPA is open to studying the issue in support of the future CO2 regulation. A two-pillar approach combining a CO2 regulation with realistic vehicle targets and ETS for the fuels/energies sector should be investigated as part of a larger 'well-to-wheel' approach.
In any case, politics should not focus on only one technology when seeking improvements of air quality, but consider a broader range of technologies including the clean and efficient internal combustion engine, electrification and different hybrid concepts (electric and other). A technology-neutral approach must be pursued.
