The electrification of commercial vehicles has generally centred around the elimination of tailpipe emissions and the feasibility of alternative powertrains. This focus was logical: trucking consultant group Commercial Fleet estimates the average operational heavy goods vehicle (HGV) generates 223 tons of CO2 per year. Furthermore, the International Transport Forum states that freight transport accounts for 7% of global carbon emissions globally.
However, switching internal combustion engine (ICE) fleets with battery-electric models is only the first and most obvious step. Truly low-carbon HGVs will require OEMs to re-examine their production processes on a more granular level.
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