As a Tilbury-based start-up producing battery electric trucks, we at Tevva are proud to be part of the global effort to decarbonise transport. We were delighted to attend the 'Accelerating the Transition Through Road Transport' speaker briefing at COP 28 last week, where we shared our vision and challenges with world leaders and CEOs.
But we were also frustrated by the lack of meaningful action from the UK government to support the uptake of zero-emission vehicles. While the UK has set ambitious targets to phase out diesel trucks by 2035 and 2040, depending on the weight category, it has not provided adequate incentives or infrastructure to make this happen.
In fact, the UK lags behind many European countries in both areas. In Germany, for example, the government subsidizes 80% of the price difference between diesel and battery electric trucks, while in the Netherlands it's 45%. In the UK, we can only offer our customers a maximum discount of £16,000 on one of our 7.5-ton trucks. That's a huge gap that makes it difficult for fleet operators to switch to cleaner vehicles.
Another challenge is the lack of charging facilities for electric trucks in the UK. Unlike Germany, which is building Europe's first public charging corridor for electric trucks along major logistics routes, the UK has no dedicated charging points for trucks on the road. This means drivers must rely on depot charging or find compatible car chargers, which are often occupied or unsuitable.
These barriers are not only holding back the UK's progress towards net-zero but also damaging its competitiveness and innovation potential. As a British company, we want to see the UK leading the way in the transition to zero-emission transportation, not falling behind. We want to see more collaboration and support from the government, not just lofty targets and empty promises.
We urge the UK government to take action now and provide more financial incentives and charging infrastructure for electric trucks. This will not only help us and other startups in the EV space to scale up and deliver our products but will also benefit the environment, the economy and the British people. We believe the UK can achieve its net zero targets, but only if it acts.
