The Union of International Haulers is based on the territory of the Republic of Bulgaria and represents the interests of over 1,300 Bulgarian companies operating in the field of international freight transport,
which provide over 30,000 jobs, operate over 18,000 transport combinations and generate a turnover of over 2 billion euros annually.
In this regard, with our opinion we express the position of all these transport companies.
The Green Deal has already imposed an excessive number of rules aimed at regulating the supply and demand for zero-emission vehicles, but so far the general public has not reacted positively to these restrictions in any country.
Most European vehicle manufacturers are in crisis due to the discrepancy between the expectations of green policy and the real market demand of customers.
These consequences will be even more obvious and unfavorable if this policy is also applied to professional carriers.
Our representative in the PDEG group at DG MOVE – Nikolay Rashkov, has already stated a position on this issue, calling for a balanced approach that is applicable to current technical capabilities.
100% electrification is not an achievable solution for heavy-duty road transport at the moment.
Unlike individuals who choose their cars only based on preferences and emotional motives, in the business sphere everything ultimately comes down to financial efficiency.
Electric heavy-duty vehicles are still too expensive, do not have sufficient mileage, and lose market value too quickly.
We would like to point out that the infrastructure for charging electric or other zero-emission vehicles on the trans-European road network in Eastern Europe is at an extremely low level.
There is not a single heavy-duty vehicle parking lot in Bulgaria that has provided a sufficient number and power capacity of electric charging stations.
The possibility envisaged in the document you published, that the purchase of zero-emission vehicles should be mandatory is, to say the least, very very worrying.
In a democratic society, objectives should not be pursued through the imposition of obligations, but through incentives and subsidies.
The document itself indicates additional financial and administrative burdens for enterprises as possible consequences of a regulatory act.
The current moment of economic crisis is extremely inappropriate, since many enterprises are on the verge of bankruptcy.
Additional financial and administrative burdens will accelerate their path to financial collapse, especially for small and medium-sized enterprises.
The public assessment would be far more positive if the European Union provided for a sufficient number of incentives – for example, tax breaks, discounts on tolls (as already provided for in Directive 1999/62/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council), state subsidies for the purchase of vehicles, abundant charging infrastructure on all major international roads, competitive prices for the energy resources needed to power the vehicles.
These are the criteria that must be achieved and guaranteed by the European Union before an obligation to purchase zero-emission vehicles is introduced, in our opinion.
In general, the International Transporters Association accepts the idea and goals of reducing carbon emissions in the long term, but we firmly believe that 2025 is too early for the implementation of this policy to such an extreme extent – such as obliging companies to purchase a certain number of zero-emission vehicles.
Our proposal is to develop a general European plan that contains various forms of subsidies and privileges for zero-emission vehicles.
To implement a general European project that will build a quality infrastructure for the supply of energy sources along all leading European transport corridors, and only then to leave it to the free market to regulate the use of zero-emission vehicles, stimulating their efficiency through subsidies and financial incentives.