On December 1, Germany began a new high-speed charging standard, to divide to level 1 high-carbon emission vehicles, for example, the toll per kilometer will be directly increased to 0.348 euros (2.69 yuan/km), an increase of about 83%.
Higher fees and higher emissions
On December 1, Germany began a new high speed toll system, with changes including new toll rates, additional tolls for carbon dioxide emissions, and an upcoming expansion of tolls. Although this new regulation is very controversial in the industry, but around October this year, the German Parliament has passed the "Toll Law implementation rules Amendment III", under the new toll collection standard, the German truck toll standard will usher in a major change.
The Toll Act Amendments include the following major changes:
Changes to weight class classification criteria (effective December 1, 2023) : Allowable gross weight (GVW) will no longer be used as a basis for vehicle weight class allocation. Instead, the technology allows total mass (TPMLM) to determine the weight class of the vehicle.
It should be noted here that the registration certificate of the German vehicle (Zulassungsbescheinigung) will have information on F1- Technical permissible Total Mass (TPMLM) and F2- EU Member States Permissible Heavy Mass (GVW). According to the latest regulations, the classification of vehicle charges will be changed to TPMLM, which is usually larger (understood as the maximum load factor of the vehicle design), which may result in the vehicle being classified as a more expensive vehicle type.
Particulate Reduction Rating changes (effective December 1, 2023) : Even vehicles equipped with particulate traps will no longer be assigned a better emission rating. Only vehicles registered for the first time on or after July 1, 2019 (and meeting the European Class 6 or Ultra-low emission Vehicle standard) can be assigned to the more favorable CO2 emission class.
For example, vehicles with a "Euro 2+PFK1" environmental rating will be classified as a toll Environmental rating 2 and will no longer be classified as a toll environmental rating 3. Vehicles with the "Euro 3+PFK2" environmental rating will be classified as fee-based Environmental rating 3 instead of fee-based Environmental rating 4.
In short, for all fuel vehicles, there is bound to be a higher cost of access, the older the car, the more expensive the toll.
The higher the emissions, the more expensive the charge. The maximum increase is nearly double
In the new charging scale, vehicles will be classified according to the C02 emission rating, which is divided into 1 to 5 levels (level 1 is the worst and level 5 is the best). Unless the vehicle is zero-emission or a new model that meets Euro VI emissions, vehicles registered before 1 July 2019 will automatically be classified as C02 emission Class 1.
In short, vehicles with high emissions of pollutant CO2 emissions (g/ton-km) will be classified as level 1, while near-zero emission vehicles such as hydrogen fuel cells and pure electric models can be classified as level 5, free of tolls. For example, heavy commercial vehicles with Euro 6 emissions standards will pay an extra 7.9 cents per kilometre up to a maximum, while vehicles with older Euro 1 emissions standards will pay an extra 15.8 cents.
This will have a significant impact on transport costs. Euro 6 trucks with relatively low CO2 emissions could see a 10-20 percent toll increase, but older trucks with higher CO2 emissions could face an 83 percent increase. In particular, zero-emission vehicles such as electric vehicles, hydrogen vehicles and hydrogen fuel cell vehicles will remain exempt from tolls until December 31, 2025.
According to the German authorities, the aim is to make road freight more environmentally efficient and "incentivize" transport service providers participating in the German market by encouraging them to invest in sustainable, low-emission and fuel-efficient vehicles. However, this statement has been strongly opposed by many logistics companies.
Another major change to truck tolls: After January 1, 2024, natural gas (CNG/LNG) -powered commercial vehicles will no longer enjoy toll-free treatment. Instead, they will be classified by emission class, the same as the above regulations. In addition, on July 1, 2024, the scope of the collection of toll roads in Germany will be extended to vehicles with a technically permitted maximum load capacity (TPMLM) of more than 3.5 tons, even if the RV combination, more than 3.5 tons will need to pay additional tolls.
