September 2026 Newsletter

Dear HVTT Forum subscribers,

My last newsletter was in March at the start of spring in the UK. I now have the autumn slot, though it certainly does not feel like it with temperatures in the mid-20s across the in the East and South East. The theme has been relatively consistent throughout September, with temperatures averaging 2.6C warmer than normal for this time of year. Furthermore, we are still in the doldrums of an ongoing “hosepipe ban” initiated in July throughout most of England, breaches of which can result in fines up to £1,000. Reservoir levels across England are at 56% capacity, nearly 20% below average for this time of year, owing to successive intense heatwaves and record low rainfall this summer. With the dire weather update out of the way, we turn to a few other updates of interest from our small, not-so-wet corner of the North Atlantic.

In June, the eFreight Autonomous consortium—linked to the eFreight 2030 eHGV demonstrator as part of the government -funded ZEHID programme—published their report on the outlook for autonomous heavy goods vehicles in the UK. The report identifies hub-to-hub trunking and intermodal shuttles as key areas for initial deployment, and expects to start “supporting UK autonomous freight trials” as early as 2027. With the Automated Vehicles Act 2024 (AVA) the UK has some of the most advanced and unified legal frameworks for autonomous vehicles, and just this month British unicorn Wayve launched the UK’s first supervised autonomous ride-hailing service with Uber in London. A repeated hub-to-hub trunking operation would appear, on the face of it, less complex than navigating London rush-hour, and so we expect developments in the HGV sector to start moving at pace.

Autonomy is one lever which can help loosen the constraints on deploying eHGVs at scale, one of which is the payload penalty. At present, the maximum payload which can be carried on an 44-tonne articulated eHGV in the UK is theoretically around 25 tonnes, an approximately 3-tonne penalty compared to a standard diesel vehicle. In March the Road Haulage Association launched its Payload Loss Survey Report, outlining the consequences of this for the road haulage industry at large, and calling on the government to increase the allowable gross vehicle mass for eHGVs from 44 tonnes to 46 tonnes. A 2-tonne concession is already available for 40-tonne eHGV combinations which can operate at up to 42 tonnes under the Road Vehicles (Authorised Weight) (Amendment) Regulations 2023. Payload can also be constrained by individual axle load limits, and for this reason the RHA is also calling for an increase in the permitted drive axle weight for eHGVs from 10.5 to 12.5 tonnes.

Another barrier holding back eHGV deployment is the cost and delays associated with grid infrastructure upgrades, and in June the UK launched a consultation on a proposed “Strategic charging infrastructure scheme”. The scheme aims to boost EV adoption among passenger and commercial vehicles through subsidised electricity network upgrades at selected strategic locations. The government also launched a consultation on a proposed “New HGV CO2 emissions regulatory framework for the UK”, which would help support mandated phase-outs dates of non-zero-emission HGVs through either an expansion of existing CO₂ emissions regulations, a manufacturer’s zero-emission vehicles mandate, or an adoption requirement imposed on hauliers.

There are a few other UK updates worth a quick mention:

• Britain’s largest energy supplier Octopus Energy has teamed up with CATL to launch Swaptopus: a network of battery swapping stations for eHGVs, with the UK’s first hubs expected in 2027.
• In July, UK retailer M&S began deploying a new fleet of DAF electric tractor units which will be fitted with an integrated inverter allowing the trailer refrigeration units to be powered directly from the vehicle’s high-voltage battery system.
• The UK government has announced plans to mandate 18 vehicle safety technologies through type approval, which for HGVs will include direct vision systems, blind spot information systems, reversing motion awareness, and vulnerable road user emergency braking systems.
• The 180-bay Electroway eHGV hub in Magna Park will have its official launch event in October. The site will feature 32 DC charging bays and 24/7 hospitality facilities.

It would be remiss of me to not mention the upcoming HVTT19 symposium, to be held jointly with ICWIM10 in Ljubljana, Slovenia, 9-13 May 2027. We have received over 120 abstracts for the combined conference, significantly higher than our previous joint conference in Brisbane, and possibly a record in the history of the Forum! We are also very pleased to be arranging a formal conference proceedings publication route, and hope to have these details finalised and shared with authors very soon. Registration details are now available here, and accommodation information is now also available here.

Finally, a couple of updates from our friends across the freight sector:

• The 13th International Workshop on Sustainable Road Freight will be held on 7th & 8th December in Cambridge, UK. Registrations are now open.
• CILT Australia have launched their International Transport and Logistics Innovation Award for Young Thinkers. Applications are now open.

All the best,

Christopher de Saxe

HVTT Forum Information Officer