No tolls for electric trucks until mid-2031

Zero-emission electric trucks will be exempt from tolls for longer than originally planned. This is intended to increase the number of electric commercial vehicles on Germany's highways and construction sites.

Since the end of 2023, zero-emission electric trucks have been exempt from tolls. It has now been confirmed that this exemption will be extended until mid-2031. The exemption was originally only supposed to be valid until December 31, 2025.

Photo: © Volvo Trucks Germany

With regard to toll costs, an electric 40-ton truck currently saves around 35 cents per kilometer compared to a diesel. The possibility of extension is based on a proposal from the EU Commission. In 2024, zero-emission vehicles 3,9 percent of newly registered heavy commercial vehicles in the EU, reports the Federal Ministry of Transport.

Transport Minister Patrick Schnieder: "By extending the toll exemption until mid-2031, we are giving the market ramp-up of zero-emission trucks a significant boost. Companies now have planning certainty, and switching to zero-emission trucks remains attractive. Zero-emission trucks up to 4,25 tons of technically permissible total weight are exempt from truck tolls indefinitely. This creates important incentives for the decarbonization of road freight transport and supports the German government's climate targets."

How many electric commercial vehicles are there currently?In Germany, approximately 100.000 commercial vehicles with electric drive are registered. These vehicles are primarily used for short and medium-haul regional deliveries. The number of electric trucks has more than tripled since 2020.  

Source: Federal Ministry of Transport

Craftsmen's exception 

Tradespeople are exempt from tolls under certain conditions. They can register their vehicles with Toll Collect on a voluntary basis to avoid checks and bureaucratic hurdles.  

The Central Association of German Crafts (ZDH) has summarized how the craftsman exemption works:

The craftsman exemption applies when employees of a craft business use a vehicle or vehicle combination. over 3,5 to under 7,5 tons technically permissible total mass (tzGm) use toll roads and

➢ A: Transport materials, equipment or machinery necessary to carry out the company’s own services and work (including tools, work equipment, spare parts, building materials, cables, equipment or accessories) and/or

➢ B: handcrafted goods are transported that are manufactured, processed or repaired in the company's own premises.

Attention: According to Toll Collect, examples of products that are not handcrafted but industrially produced include dough blanks or baked goods "that are produced in large quantities through a high degree of mechanization and automation in processes involving division of labor, in order to be baked off or sold in branches". 

◼ In principle, the exemption can be claimed by any craft business or similar professions if one of the two conditions specified in the law is met with regard to the drivers and the equipment carried: 

➢ A: Under the first exception for the "transport of materials, equipment or machinery" for the purpose of carrying out a trade, the driver can be any person employed in the business to carry out the respective trade. This includes unskilled workers and trainees, not just journeymen/women or master craftsmen/women.

➢ B: According to the BMDV, the only requirement for the second exception, "delivery of handcrafted goods," is that the driver must be employed by the company. In any case, the transported goods must have been handcrafted, repaired, or processed within the company itself. The driver does not, however, need to have been directly involved in the process.

Source: ZDH

➢➢More information about the tradesman exemption can be found on the website of Toll Collect

Report vehicles The Toll Collect website can craftsmen report their vehicles with more than 3,5 and less than 7,5 tonnes tzGmwho are on the move under the conditions of the craftsman exemption. Reporting is voluntary. However, with this information, Toll controls be designed to minimize discharges and administrative procedures, reports the Federal Office for Logistics and Mobility.

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