Asher Bennett, P-DG et fondateur de la marque anglaise de camions à batteries Tevva, plaide pour de nouvelles actions gouvernementales au Royaume-Uni en faveur des véhicules électriques. Dans son éditorial, il affirme « qu’il faut en faire davantage pour accélérer la décarbonation des véhicules industriels (…) nous demandons au gouvernement du Royaume-Uni d’harmoniser les incitations au niveau de celles qui existent en Europe ».
Il en profite au passage pour épingler la politique de l’après-Brexit : « le Brexit nous a permis, en tant que nation, de nous affranchir des règles de l’Union européenne limitant les aides financières que les États pouvaient accorder à certaines industries. Pourtant, le Royaume-Uni est à la traîne par rapport à ses voisins européens. »
Il termine son plaidoyer en donnant des exemples concrets : « Tevva peut offrir à ses clients des rabais grâce aux incitations gouvernementales avec un maximum de £16 000 [18 790€] pour les petits tonnages et £25 000 [28 410€] pour les gros camions. Pourtant, si vous comparez ce soutien à ce qui est offert dans d’autres pays européens, vous avez l’impression qu’on pourrait faire davantage, En Allemagne par exemple le gouvernement compense 80% de l’écart de prix entre un camion Diesel et les camions à batteries. Aux Pays-Bas, c’est 45%. C’est potentiellement entre 50 000£ [56 830€] et 90 000£ [102 290€] de plus par camion que ce qui est concédé au Royaume-Uni. (…) Pour que notre pays atteigne ses objectifs, il faut prendre davantage de mesures pour stimuler la fabrication de véhicules électriques au Royaume-Uni, seule lueur d’espoir dans une industrie qui a atteint son point le plus bas depuis 60 ans (…) Evidemment il faut une confiance dans la technologie et une clarification sur le TCO ».
Asher Bennett se fait fort de l’apporter aux clients de Tevva avant de conclure : « pour le moment, le marché n’est pas prêt à adopter à grande échelle la décarbonisation sans de nouvelles incitations, tout au moins pas avec l’urgence requise. » Un plaidoyer aux allures de SOS. Pour consoler Asher Bennett, rappelons que la France est loin d’offrir les montants de l’Allemagne pour les transporteurs investissant dans les camions électriques à batteries.
“More UK government support needed to accelerate electric truck adoption”
By Asher Bennett, Tevva CEO and founder
The IPCC just this week said that the world can still avoid the worst of climate collapse with genuine change, but that if we keep emitting at the current rate, the carbon budget for 1.5C will be exhausted by 2030. That juxtaposition of hope and grim reality should be enough to focus everyone’s minds on the opportunities and threats that lie ahead.
At Tevva we believe that further government action is required to ensure that the UK achieves its net zero goals in the best and fastest possible way for the good of the environment, economy and British people. The recent Net Zero Review set out the ‘historic opportunity’ offered by net zero in the UK, by creating a new era of change and opportunity. Yet the report also made clear that more should be done to ‘back business’ and reap the economic benefits.
Our expertise lies in electric vehicles and specifically the electrification of trucks. Despite accounting for just two percent of vehicles on our roads, heavy-duty trucks (HDVs) are responsible for over a quarter of road transport emissions. Road transport and HDVs are also one of the largest sources of air pollution which causes 350,000 premature deaths per year in Europe.
Clearly more must be done to accelerate the decarbonisation of commercial vehicles, and we’re asking the UK government to bring truck incentives in-line with those found in Europe. Brexit put us in a position where as a nation we were free from EU state aid rules which limited the amount of support governments could give to certain industries. Yet, the UK is lagging behind its European neighbours when it comes to incentives for electric truck adoption.
As a vehicle manufacturer Tevva can offer its customers discounts at point of sale thanks to government incentives, with a maximum of £16,000 for small trucks and £25,000 for large ones. Yet, if you compare this support to what’s on offer in other European countries, you’re left with a feeling that more could be done. In Germany, for example, the government provides 80% of the price differential between diesel and battery-electric trucks, in the Netherlands it’s 45%. That’s potentially between £50-90,000 per truck more than what’s on offer in the UK.
We appreciate the British government’s support which enables us to make our 7.5t battery-electric truck even more appealing to fleets. But for this country to meet its net zero goals, more action is needed to stimulate electric vehicle manufacturing in the UK, which is really the only bright spot in an industry that has reached its lowest ebb for over 60 years.
The electrification of trucks is inevitable, and the technology has developed to a point where an electric truck is a viable proposition for many operators. There’s a huge appetite among fleets for electric trucks, as the opportunity to reduce emissions makes good business sense. Obviously there needs to be trust in the technology and clarity on total cost of ownership (TCO). Tevva is working with its customers to address both of these points and we’re confident that our electric trucks will save them money over the lifetime of the vehicle and improve their fleet and driver performance.
By developing a range of battery-electric and hydrogen-electric medium- to heavy-duty trucks that can improve air quality, vehicle safety, and lower total cost of ownership, Tevva is leading commercial vehicle decarbonisation in the UK. Yet the market isn’t ready to adopt on scale without further incentivisation, at least not with the required urgency.
-Ends-
pastre@trm24.fr
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