Market and Regulatory Challenges of the EU Road Freight Transport Transformation towards Zero Emissions

Purpose: The main aim of the research is to identifying the key market and regulatory challenges the EU road freight haulers currently face as well as indicating the main barriers hampering their adapting to the restrictive requirements of the energy transformation. Design/Methodology/Approach: At conducting this data-driven research, the following methods were applied: 1. critical literature analysis, 2. factor analysis, 3. Date mining and analysis, 4. market analysis and 5. comparative analysis. Findings: The EU road freight transport playing key role in the internal land freight transport market, generats at the same time the largest amount of GHG in the total transport sector. Being under the restrict regulatory measures aimed at transforming it towards zero emission, streives to achieve the EC targets in the scheduled time through the accelerated development of electromobility. However, such a path towards decarbomization, is associated with huge upfront costs, the EU road freight transport companies need to bear. This capital-weak transport sector, characterized by low profitability and operating in highly competitive, atomized polypoly-type market, however, is not able to carry out the necessary replacement of the vehicle fleet driven by combustion engines by green electric trucks without sufficiently high financial state support. It applies mainly to the CEE countries, being strongly affected by the ongoing war in Ukraine. Practical Implications: The current fast-track implementation of the EU road transport decarbonization strategy, focused almost exclusively on achieving ecological goals, should be revised. It should not only be extended in time, but also much more strongly than before, take into account the economic and social aspects resulting from its implementation. Otherwise, it may cause serious economic effects for all parties involwed in the road transport chains and the EU economy, as well. Originality/Value: Without bridging the gap between the currently overemphasized environmental dimension and the economic and social ones of the sustainable mobility strategy, it will not be possible to proceed smoothly towards decarbonising the EU road freight transport.