It is estimated that freight transport demand, and hence fuel consumption, will grow by some 60% from 2010 to 2050. Freight transport operators – mainly SMEs or micro enterprises – can experience fuel costs representing over a quarter of their total operational costs.

At the same time, EU manufacturers of heavy-duty vehicles face increasing global competition. Significant markets such as the United States, Canada, Japan and China have in recent years implemented regulatory measures to improve heavy-duty vehicle fuel efficiency and reduce fuel bills.

The new regulation on the determination of CO2 emissions and fuel consumption of heavy-duty vehicles introduces a common method to:

• objectively compare performance of heavy-duty vehicles
• encourage the introduction of more fuel-efficient vehicles in the EU market

In detail, the new regulation

• lays down provisions for the certification of truck components with an impact on CO2 emissions and the fuel consumption of vehicles (engines, gearboxes and torque converting components, axles, body, tyres and auxiliaries)
• introduces the vehicle energy consumption calculation tool (VECTO) – a simulation tool developed for the purpose of determining and declaring CO2 emissions and fuel consumption of heavy-duty vehicles
• lays down requirements for EU countries and manufacturers to approve and verify the conformity of components and the simulation process