Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what steps his Department is taking with supermarket leaders to help ensure that supermarket vehicle fleets are sustainable.

We recognise the important role large fleet operators have to play as we transition to zero emission driving. The Government plans to consult on phasing out the sale of new diesel heavy goods vehicles and we will continue to work with fleet operators towards this.

The Government’s £20m Low Emission Freight Trials funded a series of R&D projects aimed at encouraging the widespread introduction of low and zero emission vehicles to UK fleets. Retailers including Sainsbury’s, ASDA, Tesco and John Lewis were all part of this programme to cut emissions and improve air quality by focusing on emissions-busting technologies for trucks and vans.

The Government has to date already committed £1.5 billion to support the early market for greener cars and vans through various grant funding schemes which fleet operators are able to take advantage of. The Government has announced phasing out the sale of new petrol and diesel cars and vans by 2030, and, from 2035, all new cars and vans must be zero emissions at the tailpipe. To facilitate this we have pledged a further £2.8 billion package of measures to support industry and consumers to make the switch to cleaner vehicles.