Europe is accelerating the transition to cleaner and safer commercial vehicles through legislation and policy support, while Australia is moving at a slower pace due to infrastructure gaps and different regulatory priorities.
According to Glen Dyer, Managing Director at IVECO Australia, the European market has advanced more quickly in areas such as emissions reduction, alternative fuels and vehicle safety largely because governments have actively pushed those changes.
“Legislation always just sped things up,” Dyer said.
In Europe, regulatory frameworks and incentives have played a significant role in encouraging manufacturers and operators to adopt new technologies, ranging from lower-emission diesel engines through to battery electric and hydrogen fuel cell trucks.
“If European governments wanted to get something implemented — new technology — they would either legislate or they would provide incentives, and it would just speed up the process,” he said.
The result has been rapid development of new vehicle technologies and tightening emissions standards across the region.
Strong investment in alternative propulsion
Manufacturers are continuing to invest heavily in alternative propulsion technologies to meet European regulations and customer demand.
IVECO, for example, operates a dedicated engineering facility in Germany focused on research and development for future propulsion systems.
“We’ve got a site in Germany dedicated to development of alternative propulsion,” Dyer said, noting the facility is working on hydrogen fuel cell technology, battery electric drivetrains and biofuels.
The European commercial vehicle market is therefore seeing rapid development of multiple technology pathways as manufacturers prepare for stricter emissions requirements.
“The European market is definitely more advanced,” he said.
Australia moving more gradually
In contrast, Australia’s transition toward low-emission commercial vehicles has been slower.
Dyer said one of the key reasons is the absence of strong government policy or infrastructure to support large-scale adoption of alternative fuel vehicles.
While electric trucks and vans have generated interest, uptake has been limited because fleets must also consider the practical realities of operating vehicles across long distances.
Infrastructure is often the biggest barrier.
“Someone will say, how am I going to get from Melbourne to Sydney? And there’s nothing,” Dyer said when discussing the challenges of long-distance electric transport.
Hydrogen fuel cell technology faces similar challenges.
“There’s currently insufficient infrastructure,” he said.
Without sufficient refuelling or charging networks, many operators remain cautious about adopting new propulsion technologies.
Fleet renewal still improves emissions
Even without a rapid shift to alternative fuels, emissions improvements can still be achieved through fleet renewal.
New trucks typically incorporate cleaner engines and more advanced emissions control technologies compared with older vehicles still operating in the market.
Dyer noted that Australia still has a relatively old commercial vehicle fleet compared with some international markets.
“Should 15-year-old vehicles still be on the road? I don’t know,” he said.
Replacing older trucks with newer models can therefore deliver meaningful improvements in emissions and safety, even when those vehicles still use diesel engines.
Policy could accelerate the transition
While the transition to alternative fuels is likely to occur eventually, Dyer believes government policy and infrastructure investment will play a major role in determining how quickly that happens in Australia.
“I think it would be beneficial,” he said when asked whether stronger policy support for fleet renewal and emissions improvement could help accelerate progress.
However, he cautioned that the transition to new propulsion technologies will require a coordinated approach.
Unless infrastructure such as charging networks or hydrogen refuelling stations develops alongside new vehicles, adoption will remain limited.
Without that critical mass of infrastructure and vehicles, the shift toward alternative fuels in the heavy vehicle sector is likely to continue at a gradual pace.
For now, Europe’s faster progress highlights how regulatory frameworks, incentives and infrastructure investment can accelerate technological change in the commercial vehicle industry.
