Welcome to This Week in Freight, your go-to source for the latest haulage and road freight news and advice in the UK.
Electric is the word this week. The UK’s new depot charging grant scheme is giving hauliers a real boost toward electrification — covering up to 75% of installation costs and helping operators future-proof their depots.
At the same time, electric van sales hit a record high in September, rising 41% year-on-year despite wider market dips.
But it’s not all smooth driving: across Europe, tolls have now overtaken fuel as the biggest operational cost for hauliers.
Plus, you’ll find the latest on Italy’s delay compensation rules, new low-carbon tech pilots and major logistics investments shaping the road ahead.
⚡ Depot grants to power HGV electrification
For years, fleet electrification has felt out of reach — complex, expensive, and uncertain. That’s changing fast.
The government’s new HGV depot charging grant is giving logistics operators the financial backing they need to build the infrastructure of the future.
From feasibility studies to full installations, funding is now live.
→ Find out how to apply and what you can claim.
🚚 Electric van sales hit record high
Electric van registrations surged 41% in September, reaching 4,262 units — the highest ever in a single month.
Despite an overall 2% dip in LCV sales, demand for electric and large vans is accelerating fast. With more than 40 models now on the market, manufacturers say the challenge is no longer choice, but charging.
SMMT warns that the UK’s 2025 targets will hinge on access to reliable infrastructure.
→ See what’s driving the surge — and what’s holding it back.
💶 Tolls now top fuel costs across Europe
The International Road Transport Union says tolls have overtaken fuel as the biggest expense for hauliers in parts of Europe.
In Germany, Austria and Hungary, per-kilometre tolls now exceed diesel costs — and new CO₂ surcharges under the Eurovignette Directive are widening the gap.
While diesel prices have stabilised, environmental levies and national taxes are reshaping profitability, pushing fleets toward zero-emission vehicles.
→ Read the full IRU analysis and see the cost breakdown.
Also worth a read
- 🇪🇺 The EU will extend its toll exemption for zero-emission trucks to 2031 to speed up electric HGV adoption.
- 📏 Longer and heavier vehicle (LHV) trials across Europe are testing whether efficiency can outweigh safety concerns.
- 🔋 UK hauliers can now lock in long-term fuel price certainty through a new fixed-price Bio-CNG supply deal.
- ⏱️ Italian hauliers are demanding strict enforcement of the new €100-per-hour delay compensation rule.
- 🚛 New flexible payment options are making HGV driver training more accessible to tackle driver shortages.
- 🚲 The city of Winchester is going to trial a city centre parcel hub using e-cargo bikes for last-mile deliveries under a £28.8m DfT scheme.
Movers & shakers
Here are this week’s big developments across road haulage:
- 🏗️ Pall-Ex has secured approval for an £80m national HQ and flagship hub in Leicestershire — a carbon-neutral “Centre of Excellence” set to create over 500 jobs.
- 📦 Raben Group will sell its Polish and German forwarding operations to Danish logistics firm Leman as it shifts focus entirely to contract logistics.
- 🤝 DX Group has opened two new DX-2 Super Sites in Birstall and Wellingborough to boost capacity and cut stem mileage across its two-person delivery network.
- ☀️ DHL Freight Sweden and Green Energy Group are piloting solar panels on HVO and biogas trucks to test fuel-saving performance across varied weather conditions.
