The European Union's initial proposal covers all types of corporate vehicles, from passenger cars to heavy trucks.
The overall goal is to reduce carbon emissions from road transport and accelerate the transition to zero-emission vehicles. This was stated by Eva Killar, who works at the Ministry of Climate.
Estonia has not yet confirmed an official position. The Ministry of Climate will discuss this with the government at the beginning of September. The ministry is skeptical because climate ambitions are already high.
Several entrepreneurs are concerned. They believe that quickly replacing the vehicle fleet is unrealistic. They say that the green transition is necessary, but radical changes cannot be made quickly.
Zero-emission vehicles are much more expensive than conventional vehicles. Costs can increase by 60-100%. Additionally, new infrastructure needs to be built, which is costly.
Currently, the biggest problem is the lack of infrastructure. The electrical infrastructure is in very poor condition for vans and trucks. There are no hydrogen refueling stations in Estonia yet.
Eva Killar stated that electric trucks are not used enough. There is a problem in the market because there are no users and no business model. It is very expensive, especially in more remote areas.
Estonia has one of the smallest shares of zero-emission vehicles in Europe. There are several reasons for this. We have a sparsely populated area, and in winter, the driving range is shorter.