The FTA has joined a coalition to raise concerns about how HGVs are treated in future Clean Air Zones. It joins three other trade associations in the coalition: the British Vehicle Rental and Leasing Association (BVRLA), the National Franchised Dealers Association (NFDA) and the Road Haulage Association (RHA).
All four associations have written a joint letter to transport secretary Chris Grayling, calling for government support in ensuring that the introduction of CAZs will not unfairly hit businesses who rely upon HGVs.
“We support the need to improve the quality of air in our cities, but given CAZs only bring forward the beneficial change that is coming anyway by a couple of years, we don’t want this to be at the cost of small businesses’ ability to trade,” said FTA’s head of UK policy, Christopher Snelling. “HGVs are an integral part of the economy at both national, regional and local level.
“Currently, there are no commercially or operationally viable alternatives to diesel in terms of HGV motive power. Over 90 per cent of everything the public eat, drink, wear and build with travels on an HGV at some point in the supply chain.”
