Dubai, 5 December 2023 - Following the historical India e-truck demand announcement at G20, more than 30 major companies have united as part of the Zero-Emission Vehicles in Emerging Markets Initiative (ZEV-EMI), led by the World Business Council for Sustainable Development (WBCSD), US and UK governments under the ZEV Transition Council (ZEVTC), and forged collaborative agreements in emerging markets. As part of the Breakthrough Agenda and the Global ZEV Transition Roadmap, this public-private action aims to accelerate investments along the zero-emission vehicle (ZEV) value chain in India, acting as a blueprint for replication in Mexico and worldwide.
Despite accounting for nearly one-third of all vehicle sales globally, emerging markets lag significantly in adopting ZEVs. According to ICCT, in 2023, only 3% of global sales of zero-emission light-duty vehicles occurred in these markets. Additionally, emerging markets housed a mere 2% of global charging infrastructure, posing a risk for global transport decarbonization. Private sector leadership is paramount for addressing the growing gap and transforming systems by aligning roadmaps and providing impactful signals for market and policy creation.
The ZEV-EMI partner companies working alongside ZEVTC governments to address the growing gap between leading and emerging markets, today announced:
1. National data-sharing platform for optimizing planning and catalyzing infrastructure investments in India.
Starting with collaboration on a pilot modeling activity led by Fujitsu, a consortium of ZEV-EMI businesses and partners has united under a national data-sharing platform. Together, they call for nationwide collaboration on data-sharing to predict infrastructure needs, provide fact-based recommendations for infrastructure deployment, and create opportunities for associated investments.
2. Aggregation and financing task force for a large e-freight pilot deployment in India
Led by the Indian government's E-FAST (Electric Freight Accelerator for Sustainable Transport) initiative, these task forces support unparalleled industry efforts. More than 15 businesses have already joined forces and announced that close to 8,000 e-trucks could be deployed by 2030, including Aditya Birla Group, Amazon, Danfoss India, DHL Group, Gentari, JSW, Maersk, Nestle, PepsiCo India, Shree Cements, UltraTech Cement and Tata Chemicals among others.
3. Launch of ZEV-EMI in Mexico
The ZEV-EMI coalition also announced strengthened efforts to support Mexico’s zero-emission vehicle transition. In the months ahead, the coalition will explore opportunities for deeper collaboration along the common priorities: infrastructure, ZEV pilot deployment, and capacity building.
4. Release of the ZEV-EMI collaboration models & best practices collection
WBCSD releases a publication that provides a viable blueprint for replicating impactful public-private actions across other markets.
“Today's announcement showcases the successful outcomes from the first year of the ZEV-EMI work to forge partnerships to expedite private investments and bolster supportive public policies. Since its launch at COP27, the ZEV-EMI has worked with over 30 industry leaders in two of the world's fast-growing markets - India and Mexico. We continue to support ZEV-EMI to engage businesses and governments to step up their efforts to help decarbonize the mobility sector, invest in the accompanying infrastructure, and diversify the global e-mobility supply chain,” said Reed Schuler, Managing Director for Implementation and Ambition, Special Presidential Envoy for Climate John Kerry, U.S. Department of State.
Since the launch of the ZEV-EMI initiative at COP27, more than 30 businesses have given their support to the initiative, including Aditya Birla Group, Amazon, Arcadis, AstraZeneca, BloombergNEF, DHL Group, EVage Motors, Eşarj Enerjisa, Fifthwall, Fujitsu, General Motors, Gentari, Grab, Hitachi, Honda, JSW, KPMG, LinkedIn, Maersk, PepsiCo, Scania, Shree Cement, Uber, and UltraTech Cement, among others.
The ZEV-EMI action is part of the Global ZEVTC Roadmap, agreed by the ZEVTC governments, to address Road Transport Breakthrough priorities and operates as part of the ZEVTC International Assistance Task Force, providing tailored support for emerging and developing economies that want to move further and faster in transport decarbonization.
“The UK was proud to jointly launch the ZEV-EMI at COP27 alongside WBCSD and the United States government, and it has been exciting to see this important work flourish over the last year, including as part of the ZEV Country Partnership with India. The initiative fills a key gap in the international support offered for countries, providing a platform for vital dialogue that fosters partnerships between major international companies and emerging market countries. The UK looks forward to the ZEV-EMI further scaling its activities over the coming year, including as part of the implementation of the Global ZEV Transition Roadmap that has been launched by the ZEV Transition Council today,” commented Ed Webber, Deputy Director of Financing and Sectors Transition, Government of the United Kingdom.
"Today's announcements mark the successful culmination of unprecedented efforts by industry leaders and ZEVTC governments, notably the United States and the United Kingdom. Since the initiative's launch at COP27, this collaboration has set a global precedent, providing a blueprint for effective public-private partnerships to accelerate zero-emission vehicle deployment worldwide,” said Diane Holdorf, Executive Vice President, WBCSD.
For more information about this initiative, please reach out to Urska Skrt, Manager, Mobility Decarbonization.
