Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, pursuant to the Answer of 29 June 2026 to Question 12905 on Large Goods Vehicles: Electric Vehicles, what evidence, modelling and analysis underpin her Department's projection that battery-electric heavy goods vehicles will become cheaper to operate than equivalent diesel vehicles without support from the Zero Emission Truck Grant and Depot Charging Scheme.

Our projections are based on Total Cost of Ownership (TCO) modelling for HGVs. This takes into account a range of future costs of vehicles including upfront costs, fuel/energy costs, maintenance costs and infrastructure costs for a typical ownership period. The modelling of vehicle prices and costs utilises evidence from a Heavy Duty Vehicle Cost and Performance model developed by Ricardo for Department for Transport. Fuel energy prices are taken from DESNZ guidance on electricity and fuel prices.

Similar findings on TCO is seen in other published analysis including:-

• ICCT 2023 A total cost of ownership comparison of truck decarbonisation pathways in Europe (ID-54-–-EU-HDV-TCO_paper_final2.pdf),

• Element Energy (2022) Battery electric HGV adoption in the UK: barriers and opportunities (Truck charging and TCO study)

• Bloomberg (2024), Zero Emission Commercial Vehicles The Time Is Now (link here Zero-Emission Commercial Vehicles: The Time Is Now).