As the UK’s key summit on road transport electrification, SMMT Electrified 2025 brought together more than 400 senior representatives from industry, government, and the infrastructure, energy, fleets, insurance and logistics sectors, to discuss the transition to zero emission mobility.
Minister for the Future of Roads at the Department for Transport, Lilian Greenwood, told attendees that the decarbonisation prize is huge – a thriving industry, a growing country and cleaner air.
She added: “We know charging convenience is key to EV adoption – we are listening and taking action.
“This government recognises the transition to EVs is not a ‘nice to have’ – it’s essential for the climate, energy security and for growth.”
Several key areas of agreement emerged during the conference, for example, that the right market-boosting measures will accelerate EV adoption and make zero emission transport possible for all consumers and businesses.
However, a successful transition will depend heavily on various conditions falling into place, all against a backdrop of rising global competition as countries seek to put their own automotive market and industry ahead of the game.
Mike Hawes, SMMT Chief Executive, told the conference that the government and everyone with a stake in the transition needs to come together and act in concert, because the process of electrification must move faster.
He added: “We are committed to net zero. The decisions made in boardrooms decades ago, to transform our industry and decarbonise transportation, have not changed. We want to get things done.
“But we have to acknowledge that the road conditions have changed since we first planned our route, even if the destination remains – without question – the same.
“I urge everyone who wants to achieve net zero – and who would not – let’s stick together and deepen our partnerships.”
To highlight the interdependencies between all stakeholders, the event saw SMMT publish a new paper outlining the importance of greater EV volume for growing business across the wider economy – with the market having the potential to cut CO2 emissions by six million tonnes a year, equal to almost a sixth of UK aviation emissions.
In a keynote speech later in the morning, meanwhile, Fredrik Allard, Senior Vice President and Head of E-Mobility at Scania UK said that being in a transformation like this is “two steps forward, one step back” but it is clear that electric trucks are the future.
He said: “Positive legislation is the guiding star for us with everyone seeing the timeline. EV truck technology exists and works – and it makes economic sense.
“In the long run, due to the higher price of biofuels, there will be an advantage for electric vehicles.
“The biggest concern is cost – how can we make electric transport cost-neutral or better than we have today. The three key issues are battery supply, impact on payload, and charging.”
One of the expert panel sessions at the conference discussed the key barriers to decarbonising heavy commercial vehicles, and how these can be overcome.
Due to specific efficiency-centric operational requirements, long fleet renewal cycles and the need to pick the right technology for the right use cases, heavy commercial vehicles are far more challenging to decarbonise than light duty fleets.
David Kiss, Managing Director, DAF Trucks UK also backed up the comments of Mike Hawes saying the sector has to carry out the transition together, in a spirit of partnership.
He said: “Delivering on the supply side is not enough, however, as we need strong demand. First, that requires total cost of ownership parity and infrastructure.
“Whether we’re able to get there in five, 10 or 15 years is something we all have to work on together.”
But with the first end-of-sale deadline for non-zero emission heavy duty vehicles being just a decade away, how much closer are we to achieving a successful transition?
Manfred Schuckert, Head of Regulatory Strategy & International Hydrogen Strategy, at Daimler Truck said the industry is on the right pathway, with a range of technologies providing the solution.
He added: “But can we manage to do it in 10 years? We’re talking a lot to politicians and governments to make them aware that we need infrastructure that’s affordable and supportive of electric and hydrogen.”
The panel discussed in more detail the plausibility of alternative technology pathways towards achieving the same goal – successfully decarbonising heavy-duty vehicles.
Todd Anderson, Vice President Chief Technology Officer, at Phinia said as we move forward with different technology options, it would be best to look at HGVs not as one big market block but a sector with very different categories and operational needs.
“For example, are they on-road, off-road? What can be done from a government standpoint to move things forward for them in particular? We must acknowledge there are multiple ways, not one form of technology”, he added.
Justin Laney, Partner & General Manager, at John Lewis Partnership, said the organisation operates in a low margin business so anything it does has to reduce carbon but also have a favourable total cost of ownership.
Very often, replacing a diesel vehicle with electric is difficult from this perspective.
“We operate 440 trucks on biomethane gas, saving 80 to 90% of the carbon versus diesel, so it’s really important to accept the role of low carbon fuels in the HGV transition to zero emission mobility”, he added.
The second half of this decade will be a decisive period in the transition to zero emission vehicles, which is critical to the achievement of net zero by 2050.
Following the completion of the first year of the Zero Emission Vehicle Mandate, and with economic headwinds and continuing challenges in market uptake, a panel of senior industry representatives discussed the state of the transition of the van market to zero emissions.
Topics looked at included whether consumers and businesses are switching to zero emission vehicles quickly enough, if the country is on the right track to meeting the mandate thresholds, and what needs to be done to accelerate the transition.
Lisa Brankin, Managing Director, Ford of Britain and Ireland told the conference: “We’ve got a real broad range of electric vehicles available. We’ve invested, but we haven’t seen demand grow at the level predicted.”
Meanwhile, another panel on EV charging accessibility talked about how the implementation of correct regulatory reforms has the potential to turbocharge infrastructure rollout and renewable energy generation.
According to Roy Williamson, Executive Chair at Gridserve, the EV charging network, there has been a huge increase in the availability of charging infrastructure, but drivers do not always know where they are located.
“We could vastly improve on the signage to EV charging, for example, which can drastically increase the amount which the infrastructure is used”, he added.
