Government must help green vehicles
Governments should do more to help truck manufacturers introduce environmentally friendly technologies, according to a leading industry figure.
Ian Jones, UK managing director of Mercedes-Benz Commercial Vehicles, spoke as Royal Mail, Amey, DHL, Hill Hire, Ringway, Scottish and Southern, Tesco and TNT announced they would be trialling the company's Mitsubishi Fuso Canter Click here Eco Hybrid vehicles in London over the next three years.
Jones says the firm was forced to invest £1.5m to convert the diesel-electric 7.5-tonne Canters to European Euro-4 standards, after requests to legislators for permission to operate the trucks using the Japanese Euro-4 equivalent proved unsuccessful.
About 300 Canter Eco Hybrids are already in service in Japan.
He adds: "Frankly, that money could have been better spent on supporting other environmental programmes.
