Trucks play a vital role in EU supply chains, transporting 77% of inland freight volumes measured in tonne-kilometres. By comparison, rail accounts for 17% and inland waterways 6%. This IRU Intelligence Briefing, based on data from 2022, the latest available year, breaks down the EU’s truck fleet: What is the most used type of truck combination? How much does it weigh and with which exhaust emission standard does it comply? How does the picture differ between EU countries?
Many vehicle variations, including vans and trucks, are used to transport goods. Trucks have a greater payload, with a gross vehicle weight above 3.5 tonnes. They can transport a wide variety of goods over short, medium and long distances, from dense urban regions to remote rural areas, connecting different modes at airports, seaports and railway terminals. Trucks are indispensable to the global and EU economy.
This IRU Intelligence Briefing looks at the composition and the utilisation of trucks with a gross vehicle weight greater than 3.5 tonnes, which belong to the N2 (medium-duty vehicles) and N3 (heavy-duty vehicles) truck categories, and O3 and O4 categories for trailers. The truck fleet is defined as all registered trucks in the EU.
