Big news in the light commercial vehicle market, with what look like tough EU CO2 targets coming into effect from 2014.
Getting down to a 175g/km average across a van range will be challenging for manufacturers, and the penalties will be severe, even if implementation is gradual.
The worry, expressed by several experts I spoke to last week, is that LCVs aren’t like cars, and are chosen for a specific purpose. If the cost of larger vehicles has to rise in order for the manufacturers to either invest in the technology to get CO2 emissions down, or to pay the EU?fines, then some operators may get to the point where two smaller vans become more cost efficient. That’s not quite what the legislators had in mind, and isn’t great for the environment.
Plus there are the longer model cycles for commercial vehicles. Setting targets for cars isn’t easy, but at least models have somewhere around a five-year product life. Commercial vehicles generally last significantly longer before being replaced, so it takes that little bit longer for the technology to come to market.
This will be an interesting one to watch.
In other news, I was sad to hear about service supplier Auto Windscreens calling in the administrators last week. It’s never good to hear of any company falling by the wayside, but to hear of problems for such a significant name in the industry serves as a reminder that we’re not out of the woods yet.
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