£2 million to help decarbonise Heavy Goods Vehicles
The Scottish Government has launched the new £2 million Heavy Goods Vehicle (HGV) Market Readiness Fund for 2025-26.
It is designed to support HGV operators, manufacturers, financiers and charge point operators to work together to identify investment in HGV Decarbonisation – boosting the economy and reducing transport emissions associated with road freight.
This fund builds on the HGV Decarbonisation Pathway developed in 2024 and early mapping and analysis work which considered where charging infrastructure will be required to best support zero emission HGVs.
Cabinet Secretary for Transport Fiona Hyslop said:
“We know we need to reduce transport emissions and we know that the decarbonisation of HGVs requires real innovation and a truly collaborative approach – which is why I’m pleased to announce £2 million for the HGV Market Readiness Fund.
“We’re taking the experience and approach developed for bus decarbonisation and applying it to the HGV sector. But we cannot decarbonise HGVs alone, so we’re working to attract further private investment and create the conditions which will best accelerate decarbonisation at pace and scale.
“There are a large amount of SME operators in our road freight sector in Scotland. As such, we have set aside £1 million of this funding to specifically support smaller operators. No one and no sector should be left out of the opportunities created by the transition to a net zero transport system and I look forward to seeing what this new fund and approach here in Scotland will achieve.”
Chris Ashley, Net Zero lead for the Road Haulage Association (RHA) said:
“We are delighted that the Scottish Government has earmarked this funding to support our industry’s decarbonisation journey.
“This investment to help operators prepare for Net Zero is invaluable, particularly for smaller businesses with limited back-office capabilities. It is a welcome boost when costs and a lack of public charging sites continue to hold businesses back from investing in zero-emission vehicles and technologies.
“We look forward to continuing our work with the Scottish Government to deliver this vital support for operators.”
Lamech Solomon, Head of Decarbonisation policy at Logistics UK said:
"We welcome the launch of Transport Scotland’s £2 million HGV Market Readiness Fund which our members believe will be a critical step towards the decarbonisation of Scotland’s HGV fleet.
"Operators have been clear that the path to decarbonisation will be difficult and expensive. This fund, which will support early collaboration between operators, manufactures, financiers and infrastructure providers should help the sector to overcome the initial barriers to investment."