Roadblocks to Implement Electric Freight Transports : Challenges for Commercial Vehicle Manufacturers and Hauliers

Abstract: The freight transport industry is crucial for the global economy and a key element of all supply chains and logistics systems. The demand for freight is expected to more than double over the next three decades. Freight transport’s externalities and negative impact on the environment have been highlighted in previous research and reports. At the same time, the latest IPCC (2023) report highlights the urgency to dramatically cut emissions to mitigate the effects on climate change caused by human actions, which also relates to freight transport, which in essence is a result of the design and management of supply chains.  A way of reducing GHG emissions from logistics operations is to implement a variety of environmentally friendly strategies, processes, and activities designed to minimize the environmental impact of such operations. Switching to vehicles powered by zero-emission and non-pollutant technology is one of the proposed strategies to reduce the environmental impact of logistics operations.    Electromobility is foreseen to become one of the main pathways to decarbonize supply chains and logistics operations. However, the transition to electromobility entails that many actors in the supply chain are affected. Two important actors in the transition are the Commercial Vehicle Manufacturers (CVMs), as technology providers, and the hauliers, as technology adopters. The implementation of Heavy-duty Battery Electric Vehicles (HBEVs) in rod freight transport entails that, as technology providers, and the hauliers, as technology adopters, are exposed to a range of challenges  The purpose of the thesis is to describe and explain the challenges of implementing BEVs among Commercial Vehicle Manufacturers (CVMs) and Hauliers. This thesis targets the intersection of electromobility and supply chain management and aims to contribute to the body of research on green logistics by investigating managerial and business-related aspects of the implementation of HBEVs in road freight transports and to shed light on the subject to practitioners outside academia.   The research has been performed through literature reviews and case studies. The case studies include interviews, document studies and observations from two commercial vehicle manufacturers (of which one is a main case and one is a reference case), and eight haulier companies.  The research reveals that the challenges for both CVMs and hauliers relate to Technology, Finance, Market, Organization and Policy. Further, the challenges take different shape depending on the actor’s perspective, for example, a technology-related challenge for the CVMs such as battery capacity, translates to a technology-related challenge for the hauliers in terms of limited range.   Finally, the challenges can be interrelated and might have a reinforcing effect in many cases, which inhibits, even further, the transition to electrified freight transports. For instance, challenges related to technology have a direct impact on operations and finance. The limited range of HBEVs – a technology challenge – results in a less flexible freight vehicle, that requires a more careful planning from the hauliers’ side – operational challenge. The loss of operational flexibility entails that it’s more difficult for the hauliers to accept unplanned transport assignments from transport buyers, which has a direct impact on the haulier’s earning capacity – a financial challenge.