ETI Insights Report - HGV use in the UK

Abstract:

For the UK to meet its legal obligation under the 2008 Climate Change Act, significant emission reductions will be required in all parts of the transport sector. Heavy duty vehicles (HDVs) comprise around a third of UK domestic transport emissions, equalling 8% of all UK domestic emissions. In some scenarios, HDVs could contribute as much as 30% of the overall Green House Gas (GHG) emissions in 2050. The sector is therefore coming under increasing pressure to reduce CO2 emissions and fuel usage. This pressure will increase with the ambition to move to 'net zero' by 2050. This insight sets out to address how HGVs are used in the UK, how this compares to cycles used to inform legislation, and if meaningful performance characteristics can be inferred from investigating service use. This report finds that the the twelve archetypes for HGVs which have been statistically characterised were compared to the drive cycles used in VECTO (Vehicle Energy Consumption Calculation Tool). There are significant differences between the VECTO drive cycle and the twelve archetypes’ duty cycles, especially at higher cruising speeds. This has the potential to lead to significant differences between the certified and labelled fuel efficiency and CO2emissions predicted by VECTO and those seen in real operations of HGVs in the UK, which could affect confidence in the VECTO approach for UK operators.

Publication Year:

2019

Publisher:

ETI

DOI:

No DOI minted

Author(s):

Joss, M.