European transport and logistics sectors warn against disruptive zero-emission truck mandates

13 October 2025

Four leading European associations representing the road transport, freight forwarding, shipper and cold-chain sectors have jointly called on the President of the European Commission to avoid introducing mandatory zero-emission truck demand targets, warning that such measures risk disrupting Europe's green transition if enabling conditions are not yet in place.

In a joint letter to European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, the signatories, IRU, CLECAT, the European Shippers' Council (ESC) and the Global Cold Chain Alliance (GCCA), reaffirmed their strong commitment to transport decarbonisation but cautioned that demand-side mandates would slow market-driven progress and create unnecessary pressure on operators and shippers.

CLECAT Director General Nicolette van der Jagt said, "Any EU initiative to renew road freight fleets must focus on creating the enabling conditions for operators to deploy zero-emission vehicles, rather than imposing purchase targets. Mandating such targets without addressing infrastructure gaps would force operators to purchase vehicles without the ability to use them. Not only will this come at a substantial cost, but it would also reduce the effectiveness, efficiency, and competitiveness of European operators."

The signatories warn that binding purchase or use targets would place disproportionate burdens on companies performing road transport, in particular SMEs and micro-enterprises, which make up over 95% of Europe's 600,000 road transport operators, cascading compliance costs throughout the supply chain and impacting smaller companies least able to absorb them.

They also note that several transport segments, such as cold-chain logistics, construction, and chemical transport, face specific technical and operational barriers to electrification, making a one-size-fits-all mandate both impractical and economically damaging.

Instead, the signatories call for:

• targeted purchase incentives to make zero-emission trucks more affordable;
• accelerated investment in both depot and public charging infrastructure; and
• a coherent financing framework that reinvests revenues from instruments such as the Eurovignette and ETS 2 directly into road-transport decarbonisation.