Heavy vehicles on the road towards the circular economy: Analysis and comparison with the automotive industry

With 270 million light vehicles and 20 million heavy-duty and off-road (HDOR) vehicles in use in the European Union, automotive and HDOR industries are two major sectors in the European economy. Each year, 12 million light vehicles plus 1 million HDOR vehicles reach their end-of-life. In a context of circular economy, following questions are of growing concern. To what extent is the circular economy achieved and implemented in the automotive and HDOR sectors? What industrial practices and regulations are prevalent and commendable in the light of the circular economy? While the end-of-life management of light vehicles − subjected to the ELV Directive 2000/53/EC - is widely studied in literature, the end-of-life stage of HDOR vehicles has been neglected for a long time from a research perspective. To fill this gap, extensive literature survey and in-depth investigations on the industrial ground are conducted. Key factors - i.e. regulations, business models and markets evolution, new and emerging technologies integration - affecting the circular economy performance of automotive and HDOR sectors are analysed. Notably, not only lessons learned from best industrial practices but also remaining challenges for a more circular economy are highlighted. Both industries are compared through the four buildings blocks of the circular economy and the four possible feedback loops defined by the Ellen MacArthur Foundation. As a result, this research contribution could lead to practical applications, for instance, in supporting industrial practitioners or policy makers to realize the opportunities and challenges of closing the loops of HDOR vehicles from different perspectives.