European regulations 2027: what lies ahead for trucks and road freight transport

On CO2 targets for heavy goods vehicles, Brussels has granted an additional delay, pushing the deadline originally set for 2025 back to July 2026. One question remains unresolved and divides truck manufacturers: will the European Union grant a flexibility mechanism comparable to the one already in force for cars, allowing emissions to be averaged over three years (2025 to 2027) rather than a single year? The direction of this decision will have a direct impact on manufacturers' product strategies for the next two years.

On top of this comes the RED III directive, which sets the target of raising the renewable energy share to 29% in road freight transport by 2030, and is preparing its own implementation via a new credit mechanism, the IRICC programme, set to replace the current TIRUERT scheme. The transposition deadline was set for 21 May 2025: several Member States, including France, are already behind schedule. The SOLUTRANS review details the two options left to Member States and their concrete consequences for hauliers.

The revision of the weights and dimensions directive reached a milestone on 4 December 2025, with a common position adopted by European transport ministers. The text notably provides for a 0.9-metre increase in the permitted length of trucks, as well as a weight allowance dedicated to zero-emission technologies, so that batteries or hydrogen tanks do not eat into commercial vehicles' payload capacity.

This dossier, still under negotiation with the European Parliament, also reopens the sensitive debate over mega-trucks, road combinations that can reach 25.25 metres, which are meeting strong opposition in several countries, France foremost among them. The review looks at the positions of the various states and the technical arguments put forward on each side, offering useful insight for anticipating future fleet configurations.

It's the most talked-about development at the show: for the first time, an emissions standard directly addresses tyres and brakes on heavy goods vehicles, and not just the engine. The 1 July 2027 deadline still stands for road freight transport, with a target of cutting NOx by more than 50% and particulates by 75%.

The most sensitive point in the dossier concerns the method for calculating tyre abrasion. Tyre manufacturers had feared for a time that a tyre would be classified as a component part of the vehicle in the same way as a headlight, which would have forced them to produce the same reference throughout each truck's entire service life. This constraint, seen as untenable for the industry, is reportedly about to be dropped in favour of a labelling system. The SOLUTRANS review explains this mechanism and why it changes the game both for manufacturers and for fleets, which will need to manage the renewal of their tyres.

Unlike the texts still under discussion, the GSR II (General Safety Regulation II) regulation has been a concrete reality since 7 July 2024. All new trucks registered since that date now come fitted as standard with enhanced safety equipment: drowsiness warning, lane departure warning, and advanced emergency braking. SOLUTRANS 2025 showed just how thoroughly commercial vehicle manufacturers have built these requirements into the very design of their ranges.

From the Eurovignette directive, which could extend the road toll exemption for electric trucks, to the exclusion of heavy goods vehicles from the European automotive package (a notable shift from Brussels' initial intentions), several decisions still remain to be clarified ahead of SOLUTRANS 2027. Road freight transport players also stress a point that often gets less attention: the strengthening of controls against unfair competition, an issue set to weigh increasingly heavily as deadlines draw closer.

So many dossiers that the commercial vehicle industry cannot afford to ignore, given how much they will shape industrial decisions over the next two years.