Daimler Truck, Volvo and Volkswagon AG’s heavy-truck business, the Traton Group, have agreed to develop a network of public charging stations throughout Europe for electric heavy-duty long-haul trucks and buses.

The agreement marks the beginning of a future joint venture (JV) between the three parties. Together, the companies will invest €500 million (NZ$840.9 million) to install and operate 1700 high- performance, green-energy charging points close to highways, as well as at logistic and destination points within five years.

The future JV will act as a catalyst and enabler for realising the European Union’s Green Deal for carbon-neutral freight transportation by 2050 – by providing the necessary infrastructure for green energy at the charging points.

The three parties will own equal shares in the JV but will continue to be competitors in all other areas.

“By creating a European charging network leader, we are laying the foundation for our customers to transition to electrification,” said Martin Lundstedt, president and chief executive at Volvo Group.

“We have powerful electromobility technologies, and now also an industry- wide understanding and a political environment to make fundamental progress towards sustainable transport and infrastructure solutions.”

Martin Daum, chief executive at Daimler Truck, said it was a joint aim of Europe’s truck manufacturers to achieve climate neutrality by 2050. “However, it is vital that building up the right infrastructure goes hand in hand with putting CO2 -neutral trucks on the road,” he said.

Matthias Gründler, chief executive at Traton Group, said the future of transport was electric.

“This requires the rapid development of publicly accessible charging points, especially for long-distance heavy-duty transport,” he said.

“This is the first step to accelerate the transition towards sustainable, fossil- free transport. The second step should be a strong engagement of the EU for the full scale-up of a charging network across Europe.”