The European Parliament in Brussels has agreed improved Weights and Dimensions Directive rules, moving from an initial 40-tonne heavy-goods gross vehicle weight limit to 44-tonnes. The caveat, however, is that after 2034, these weight exemptions will only apply to zero-emission vehicles.

For the first time, the legislation covers cars, vans, and heavy-duty vehicles in one single piece of legislation. The above-mentioned agreement retains the Euro 6 emissions limits for cars and vans but adds stricter limits for buses and trucks, whilst introducing new limits for particles emitted from the exhaust, tyres and brakes.

According to the Department for Transport, all new sales of cars and vans powered solely by an internal combustion engine (ICE) will be banned by 2035, with heavy-goods vehicles following suit in 2040. This has now become law in the UK, as part of the country's Net Zero Strategy.

The California Air Resources Board (CARB) has mandated that all ICE heavy-duty trucks (>14,000 pounds) operating in the state be registered on the state’s Clean Truck Check* database by the end of January 2024 to undergo emissions inspections bi-annually. The purpose of the programme is to ensure all emissions-related equipment (on-board diagnostics) is functioning properly for the life of the vehicle.

Luca de Meo recently unveiled a roadmap for developing a competitive European green mobility ecosystem, co-signed by the heads of Europe’s largest commercial vehicle OEMs. The roadmap, submitted to the EU Parliament and Commission is premised on three pillars of supply, production and demand, encompassing views of all relevant industry stakeholders.

The European Council proposes lowering the emission limits for commercial vehicles slightly adjusting their test conditions.

The companies believe that adopting stricter emission standards for trucks will force manufacturers to increase production of zero-emission trucks and therefore bring down the price of these heavy-duty vehicles (HDVs).

Cummins has had Euro VI engines in the market in Europe since 2013, with first introduction of on-board-diagnostic compliance tools for heavy-duty vehicles having been in 2010.

This recycling facility is believed to be the first of its kind in India - it complies with the Indian government's Vehicle Scrapping Policy - Voluntary Vehicle Fleet Modernization Program (V-VMP), which took effect on April 1, 2022.

Under the agreement, charging stations for Commercial Vehicles (CVs) will be placed every 120km along the main highways of European Union member state countries by 2028, whilst hydrogen refuelling stations will be installed at least every 200km by 2031.

117 zero-emission buses are to be manufactured by Wrightbus in Northern Ireland and operated by FirstBus across the UK.

Konvekta is a pioneer in using CO2 as a refrigerant in climate control HVAC systems. More than 2,000 buses have been fitted with its CO2 heat pump HVAC system and these are now in successful operation throughout Europe.