Truck and bus manufacturers urge Council for swift action on revised Weights & Dimensions Directive
Brussels, 05 June 2025 – Following today’s progress report presented in the Transport Council, the European Automobile Manufacturers’ Association (ACEA) is deeply concerned by the lack of progress on the revision of the Weights & Dimensions Directive. With the clock ticking on the EU’s 2030 CO2 reduction targets for heavy-duty vehicles, ACEA urges member states to prioritise the swift conclusion of negotiations.
The revision is a critical building block to enable the mass market uptake of zero-emission trucks and buses across the EU. Updating vehicle weight, axle weight, and length limits is essential to ensure battery-electric and hydrogen-powered trucks can compete on a level playing field with conventional diesel models.
Despite consensus among industry stakeholders, the Commission, and the Parliament over the past two years, member states have not been able to agree on a meaningful reform of the rules to align with the CO2 reduction targets for manufacturers.
The stalemate in the Council seriously undermines the swift market adoption of zero-emission trucks and buses, as mandated by the recently revised CO2 targets, requiring at least one-third of new heavy-duty vehicles to be zero-emission by 2030.
“Zero-emission trucks and buses are essential to Europe’s shift toward climate-neutral road transport,” said Thomas Fabian, ACEA’s Chief Commercial Vehicles Officer. “But without a swift agreement on revising the weights and dimensions rules, the market for these vehicles will remain severely limited. It is crucial that member states break the current deadlock and provide the political momentum needed to swiftly agree on a meaningful update of the rules.”
ACEA reaffirms its commitment to supporting the green transition and stands ready to work with all EU institutions and industry partners to help bring the negotiations on a revised Weights & Dimensions Directive to a swift conclusion.
Following today’s progress report presented in the Transport Council, the European Automobile Manufacturers’ Association (ACEA) is deeply concerned by the lack of progress on the revision of the Weights & Dimensions Directive. With the clock ticking on the EU’s 2030 CO2 reduction targets for heavy-duty vehicles, ACEA urges member states to prioritise the swift conclusion of negotiations.
About ACEA
- The European Automobile Manufacturers’ Association (ACEA) represents the 16 major Europe-based car, van, truck and bus makers: BMW Group, DAF Trucks, Daimler Truck, Ferrari, Ford of Europe, Honda Motor Europe, Hyundai Motor Europe, Iveco Group, JLR, Mercedes-Benz, Nissan, Renault Group, Stellantis, Toyota Motor Europe, Volkswagen Group, and Volvo Group.
- Visit www.acea.auto for more information about ACEA, and follow us on https://www.x.com/ACEA_auto or http://www.linkedin.com/company/ACEA/
Contact:
- Ben Kennard, Head of Communications, bk@acea.auto, +32 (0) 2 738 73 17
- Camille Lamarque, Policy Communications Officer, cl@acea.auto, +32 (0) 2 738 73 16
About the EU automobile industry
- 13.2 million Europeans work in the automotive sector
- 10.3% of all manufacturing jobs in the EU
- €383.7 billion in tax revenue for European governments
- €106.7 billion trade surplus for the European Union
- Over 7.5% of EU GDP generated by the auto industry
- €72.8 billion in R&D spending annually, 33% of EU total
