Customers want green transport but won’t pay for it, say 7 in 10 hauliers

Customers want green transport, but not at a higher price

The 2026 Green Compact survey, carried out by IRU and Trimble, covers more than 1,000 transport operators in 36 countries in Western Europe, Eastern Europe and Australia.

The results show that cost is now the biggest obstacle to further emissions cuts. A year ago, it ranked second, behind infrastructure. The share of operators who say their customers will not pay the extra cost of decarbonisation is:

• 70% in Western Europe,
• 71% in Eastern Europe,
• 67% in Australia.

At the same time, 64% of operators in Western Europe and 62% in Eastern Europe say available low-emission solutions are simply too expensive.

Vehicle prices: the biggest barrier

In Europe, the price of alternative-fuel vehicles has become the main barrier to using them. In Western Europe, 66% of operators now see it as a problem, compared with 49% in 2025. In Eastern Europe, the share rose from 52% to 78%. According to IRU, an electric truck costs two to three times as much as a comparable diesel truck.

Energy supply and grid capacity have slipped to second place, but they remain a major problem. IRU points out that Europe has 1,225 public charging stations suitable for trucks, while an estimated 50,000 high-power charging points will be needed. Grid connections for depots typically take one to two years.

New costs are also on the way. The EU’s ETS2 carbon market, due from 2028, is expected to set a price of around €60 per tonne of CO₂. According to IRU, this would add an estimated 5.5% to the total cost of ownership of a long-haul truck in France. CO₂-based road tolls are already in place or being introduced in 11 EU countries.

Most operators are acting anyway

Despite the costs, most operators are already working to cut emissions. 90% in Western Europe and 87% in Eastern Europe take at least one measure. The most common are:

• route optimisation – 53% in Western Europe and 62% in Eastern Europe,
• eco-driving training – 42% in both regions.

41% of Western European operators already use alternative fuels, compared with 14% in Eastern Europe. Renewable diesel (HVO) is the most popular option in every region. In Western Europe, its use is expected to rise from 29% today to 54% within five years.

Plans for electric trucks are more modest. 29% of operators in Western Europe and 17% in Eastern Europe plan to invest in battery-electric trucks. Size matters: 87% of companies with a turnover above €100 million plan to invest, compared with 26% of smaller firms. Regional operators are also more likely to invest (40%) than long-haul operators (17%).

Fewer companies measure their impact. Only 43% of Western European operators and 23% in Eastern Europe calculate their CO₂ emissions.

What would speed up the transition

When asked what would help cut emissions “to a very large extent”, Western European operators most often pointed to a price premium paid by customers (37%), tax incentives (32%) and subsidies (31%). Only 22% chose legislation.

“Regulation can set the direction, but it cannot deliver the transition on its own,” said IRU Secretary General Habib Turki. “Decarbonisation will move faster when it makes commercial sense for operators of all sizes.”

Tolls are another factor. In Germany, higher CO₂-based tolls raised costs for a Euro VI articulated truck by 83%, while electric trucks remain toll-exempt until 2031. As trans.info has explained, the toll-free ride for electric trucks now has an end date.

IRU is calling for affordable vehicles, accessible energy and infrastructure, and financial incentives that reflect how transport businesses actually work. The full findings are available in the IRU Green Compact Survey Report 2026.

The cost debate is not new. As trans.info has reported, truck makers want an EU guarantee that hydrogen trucks will not cost more to run than diesel.