Trucks
From waste collection to road maintenance and civic construction projects, the public sector generates huge demand for heavy-duty trucks. Could this be leveraged to encourage a broader industry-wide shift to zero-emissions trucking?
While sales of electric trucks keep increasing every year, the reality is that the pace of growth needs to quicken if the EU is to meet its ambitious climate targets. So, how can this be achieved?
According to a report from the non-profit organization Smart Freight Centre, ‘Accelerating ZET Deployment: Complementary Demand-Side Measures to Strong CO₂ Standards’, published in December 2025, part of the answer is through public procurement, which the report believes is underutilized as a lever for accelerating the growth of zero-emission trucks.
How does public procurement influence heavy-duty truck demand?
First, there is direct public procurement, where public bodies buy trucks that can be used for municipal services such as garbage collection and road maintenance. The Smart Freight Centre estimates that across the EU, this could be up to 150,000 trucks over the next five years.
But more significantly, there is indirect procurement, where public tenders are used to select another party to provide transport and logistics services. For example, infrastructure and civic construction projects that require trucks for transporting building materials.
Overall, the Smart Freight Centre estimates that indirect procurement could be up to 615,000 vehicles over the next five years – more than four times higher than direct procurement. According to their report, this represents a huge, underutilized opportunity for decarbonizing road freight.
“Through our analysis, we estimate that public procurement accounts for roughly 10% of the heavy-duty truck market in Europe,” says Prof. Christoph Wolff, CEO, Smart Freight Centre and Honorary Professor of Economics & Social Sciences, University of Cologne.
Within that segment, as of December 2025, there were no rules that required or encouraged the acquisition of electric trucks specifically. This contrasts with buses, where municipalities request electric vehicles in their tenders.
Through our analysis, we estimate that public procurement accounts for roughly 10% of the heavy-duty truck market in Europe.
The Smart Freight Centre estimates that indirect procurement through public tenders in the EU could amount to up to 615,000 vehicles over the next five years.
Should the public sector be expected to play a larger role?
Within the ecosystem around electric trucks, the Smart Freight Centre’s report highlights that on the supply side, OEMs are subjected to strict mandates on carbon emissions – but the existing requirements are not aligned on the demand side.
One of the structural flaws identified by the Smart Freight Centre is the inadequacy of the EU’s Clean Vehicles Directive, which currently governs direct public procurement. This directive classifies not only battery-electric vehicles and hydrogen trucks as “clean vehicles,” but also fossil-fuel vehicles, such as those running on natural gas.
“Moreover, the targets are not very ambitious. A minimum procurement target of 50% is set for vans and buses, while only 10-15% targets are in place for trucks,” says Francesco Scognamiglio, Senior Program Manager - Fleet Electrification Coalition EU, and contributor to the report.
In addition, indirect procurement by the public sector is not governed by the EU’s Clean Vehicles Directive and represents a great opportunity for the uptake of medium- and heavy-duty battery-electric vehicles.
How would public procurement of electric vehicles affect the transport industry?
In Europe, the logistics and haulage industry is dominated by small to medium firms, which typically have lower capacity for large-scale investments in new technology. Their biggest barrier to investing in electric trucks is their higher purchase price compared to diesel, as well as a lack of charging infrastructure. For this reason, the Smart Freight Centre’s report advises against imposing fleet mandates, at least in the short term, as these will unfairly burden small to medium operators.
However, as argued in the report, if the public sector were to stimulate demand, it would increase sales volumes of electric trucks. The growth of electric trucks will most likely come in the form of an S-curve. But, for that to happen, an initial surge needs to be triggered. Once a tipping point is reached, market forces will take over and accelerate the transition to electrification.
“We are at an early stage of market formation and there is a chicken-and-egg issue that needs to be solved,” says Christoph. “Public procurement can be a demand anchor that could get the rest of the industry moving.”
Public procurement can be a demand anchor that could get the rest of the industry moving.
What would higher electric truck uptake this mean for truck manufacturers?
Under the EU’s CO2 standards for heavy-duty trucks, manufacturers need to reduce emissions from their vehicles by 45% by 2030 (vs 2019 levels). The Smart Freight Centre’s report estimates that achieving the 2030 target will require zero-emission truck sales to increase nearly tenfold.
“If all the actors in the transportation industry are aligned and committed, and supportive public policy instruments are implemented on the demand side, then together we can successfully decarbonize truck transportation across the EU. The public sector has a huge role to play when it comes to stimulating demand for electric trucks,” says Anders Vilhelmsson, Public Affairs Director at Volvo Trucks.
Download the full report, ‘Accelerating ZET Deployment: Complementary Demand-side measures to strong CO₂ standards’ on the Smart Freight Centre’s website.
