EU Parliament votes in favour extending electric truck toll exemption

The current deadline for exempting electric trucks from tolls is 31 December 2025. This means that, under current legislation, even zero-emission trucks would have to pay tolls from 1 January 2026 onwards to cover infrastructure costs.

At the end of June, the European Commission made an official proposal to extend the exemption until 30 June 2031, as announced in its action plan for the European automotive industry. According to Apostolos Tzitzikostas, EU Commissioner for Sustainable Transport and Tourism, the aim is to “create the right conditions to support European companies and reward pioneers in the transition to a low-carbon economy.” The extension of the exemption period is a “strong incentive for the industry to invest in zero-emission vehicles and reduce emissions from road transport.”

Following the Commission’s proposal, it is now up to the European Parliament to act on EU legislation – and at its meeting on 7 October, it approved the plan to extend the exemption from truck tolls. More precisely, the Parliament rejected a motion to reject the EU Commission’s proposal in a vote, thereby waving through the Commission’s proposal. The next step is for the EU Council, in which the member states are organised, to give its approval.

If the EU Council also gives the green light, the exemption period will be extended. This is the legal basis for member states to exempt zero-emission lorries (and buses) from CO2-based road user charges in their national legislation. The exemption does not therefore apply automatically across the EU, but must still be implemented by the countries. This involves either a complete exemption or a reduced rate.

The European industry association ACEA expressly welcomes the Parliament’s approval, calling it “a decisive step towards accelerating the transition to climate-neutral road transport.” At the same time, ACEA points to the incomplete implementation of the Eurovignette to date. “Only two Member States currently grant full toll exemptions, while ten Member States only apply reduced rates for zero-emission trucks. The remaining 15 Member States are not currently using this important instrument at all,” according to the association. However, ACEA considers full toll exemption for zero-emission vehicles (ZEVs) to be “among the most effective and targeted measures to improve cost parity between ZEVs and conventional vehicles.”

ACEA is therefore calling on EU Member States to act swiftly once the European Council has formally adopted the proposal. “The clock is ticking fast. We have just 56 months left for a tenfold increase of the market share of zero-emission trucks – from today’s 3.5% to at least 35% by 2030. Why are at least 15 member states still not using this instrument?” asked Thomas Fabian, Chief Commercial Vehicles Officer at ACEA. “Europe has set the world’s most ambitious CO2 reduction targets for vehicle manufacturers, yet still largely fails to provide the necessary enabling conditions. It is incomprehensible that not all available policy instruments are being implemented to make this transition happen.”

europa.eu (live stream, starts at 12:27:02), acea.auto 

This article was first published by Sebastian Schaal for electrive’s German edition