Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what assessment the Government has made of (a) the potential merits of hybrid large commercial vehicles as a step towards full electrification and (b) the difference in range between hybrid and electric large commercial vehicles.

The Government’s long-term goal is the development and deployment of zero emission Heavy Goods Vehicles (HGVs). While the pathway to achieving this is not as clear as for cars and vans, technologies are starting to emerge even for the largest vehicles. Zero emission technologies are at different stages of development for different segments of the HGV sector, with solutions more advanced for zero emission smaller, shorter-haul HGVs than for larger, long-haul HGVs. However, zero emission technologies exist and are technically proven for all types of HGVs and operations. For example, electrification of large and long-haul HGVs is possible. Manufacturers have produced large electric HGVs and there have been several successful trials of dynamic charging technologies for HGVs internationally.

Government-supported research will evaluate the potential costs, benefits and opportunities associated with various technologies, as well as their suitability for different types of HGVs and duty cycles across different parts of the network. This research will be conducted with a view to ultimately performing full-scale demonstrator trials on the UK road network, if appropriate technologies are identified. The research will be valuable in identifying the most promising solutions for the UK network and how best to develop them.

The Government will also continue to pursue regulatory opportunities to support the road freight sector in switching to lower emission commercial vehicles and are working with industry to develop an ultra low emission truck (ULET) standard to provide certainty on emission standards and encourage industry R&D in this area.