IRHA says EU and government HGV transition targets are unachievable

Irish Road Haulage Association Cites Infrastructure Deficit in EV Targets

The Irish Road Haulage Association (IRHA) has declared that current government and European Union targets for transitioning heavy goods vehicles (HGVs) away from diesel are unachievable, RTE.ie reported. The association points to a critical lack of charging infrastructure, noting that only 54 of the 43,000 HGVs on Irish roads are battery-electric.

The Gap Between Policy and Grid Capacity

While heavy-duty vehicles represent roughly 5% of the national road fleet, they contribute more than 20% of road transport emissions. The Department of Transport maintains that electrification remains essential to national climate goals, with a target of 30% of new medium and heavy-duty vehicle sales being zero-emission by 2030.

Ger Hyland, president of the IRHA, disputes the feasibility of these timelines. He contends that the national grid currently lacks the capacity to support widespread heavy-duty electrification. According to Hyland, full electrification of the commercial truck sector would require a 22% increase in the national grid’s output. He stated that plugging several heavy-duty vehicles into the current infrastructure in any given town would lead to power failures.

Logistics Operators Face High Electric Truck Prices

The financial barrier to entry remains significant for logistics operators. A standard diesel truck costs approximately €150,000, while its electric equivalent carries a price tag three times higher. Despite these capital expenditure hurdles, some firms are beginning the transition.

Dixons, an operator based in North Dublin, has integrated four electric HGVs into a fleet of 285 trucks. Operations director Brendan Dixon noted that while the electric units are reliable and offer lower running costs—matching the distance of a €2,000 tank of diesel for roughly €900 in electricity—the public charging network is essentially non-existent for heavy transport. Dixon identified the lack of designated, high-capacity charging stations on vital routes as the primary impediment to broader adoption.

Grant Programs Fail to Drive Heavy Vehicle Electrification

The Department of Transport has established a working group and introduced grant programs to incentivize the transition. However, the IRHA reports that the uptake of these financial supports remains low. The department acknowledges that while electrification is the most mature zero-emissions technology for the sector, it remains challenging for specific use cases. The current data highlights the scale of the transition required. Out of 70,000 total heavy-duty vehicles, only 565 are battery-electric.

Officials Expect Heavy Truck Transition to Take Decades

The IRHA anticipates that government targets will eventually require revision. Hyland suggested that the industry must first focus on electrifying smaller vans, with the transition for heavier haulage occurring on a much longer timeline. He indicated that HGV electrification is not realistic within the next decade under current infrastructure conditions. “We’ll have to electrify the vans first,” Hyland said. “HGV electrification will come. It will be in its own time.”

The department continues to maintain that reaching a low-carbon economy requires decisive action across all transport sectors. For operators, the decision to invest in alternative powertrains remains tied to the availability of external infrastructure and the ability to mitigate the significant premium on vehicle procurement.