This is exactly the flexibility truck manufacturers requested in a leaked joint letter sent from Volvo Group Daimler Truck, Scania, IVECO, Ford, MAN, to EU Commissioners where they asked to “generate credits independent of the artificial CO₂ reduction trajectory” and below the legally binding targets instead.

The Commission’s proposal, published on 16 December, gives truck makers the ability to generate significantly more emissions credits between 2025 and 2029, easing their compliance obligations for 2030. The move is estimated to mean a reduction of sales of Zero Emission trucks of at least 27% by 2030 delivering a major blow for businesses that need and say they want clean, affordable trucks. By weakening the trajectory manufacturers must follow before 2030, the Commission risks slowing the rollout of zero-emission trucks, even as logistics companies urgently need cleaner, cheaper-to-run vehicles to stay competitive.

This is the same playbook Volvo and Daimler have used in the US, where both Volvo and Daimler have lobbied to delay clean truck rules by filing a lawsuit against California regulators against the Clean Trucks Partnership (CTP). Over 50,000 people across the world demanded they drop the lawsuit and scale clean electric trucks.

European businesses relying on road freight now face:

  • More uncertainty over when affordable zero-emission trucks will be available at scale;

  • Delayed cost savings, as electric trucks remain more expensive without strong regulatory signals;

  • Higher exposure to fuel price volatility and dependency on diesel;

  • Slower rollout of charging infrastructure, because operators and energy companies cannot plan investment when manufacturers are rowing back on commitments.

Ironically, most major European truck makers are on track to meet EU’s 2025 CO₂ target (-15% vs 2019), except two (including Daimler) who still have some work to do. Instead of accelerating Europe’s industrial leadership, manufacturers are putting their own businesses at risk of competitive disadvantage.

The Commission notes that the change does not alter the 2030 targets themselves. But relaxing the compliance pathway before 2030 allows manufacturers to bank surplus credits now and coast through future years, significantly diluting the real-world effect of the CO₂ standards.

Clean freight experts from the Idle Giants network call on the European Parliament and Member States to support European competitiveness and hold firm on CO₂ targets amidst industry pushback.

Europe’s lawmakers still have the power to safeguard the integrity of the HDV CO₂ framework. Businesses, energy operators, and climate experts need regulatory certainty, not another concession to manufacturers resisting change.

“Volvo and Daimler have been here before, they weakened truck rules in the US, and now they are working to do the same in Europe. The Commission has handed manufacturers exactly what they lobbied for, despite the clear evidence that businesses, hauliers and the wider economy need the opposite- faster, not slower, deployment of clean trucks. This is a rollback disguised as a technical adjustment and it risks leaving Europe behind.” said Jeppe Juul, board of Transport & Environment and Head of Transport Policy at Green Transition Denmark.

“We all know that battery electric trucks are coming. We already see the rise of battery electric trucks in China, and the Chinese manufacturers are expanding to Europe as well. So European truck manufacturers should go all in on securing a solid market position in the battery electric truck market. Instead they choose to fight and postpone climate regulation, thereby undermining their own transition and future profitability. This should be a cause of concern for the shareholders of European truck manufacturers who are at risk of losing their investments.” said Tobias Nissen Senior Advisor for Sustainable Investments at Action Aid Denmark.

“For the light-duty CO2 standards, carmakers first pushed for loopholes such as an average compliance mechanism for the 2025 target, then shifted to weaken the 2035 zero-emission target. Both of which were ultimately endorsed by the EU Commission. If truck makers choose to repeat the same playbook, the EU’s landmark heavy-duty decarbonization policy is at risk. Truckmakers’ recent record of negative advocacy in the US only adds to the concern.” said Tom Magowan, Analyst at InfluenceMap.