LKW-Maut in Germany

Last month, the German Parliament and the Federal Council officially approved the increase in German road toll rates (Lkw-Maut).
The truck toll will be extended with a CO₂ surcharge, and the toll threshold will be reduced from 7.5 to >3.5 tons.

Some background information on the German MAUT toll system:

1. Vehicles concerned: Initially, the MAUT mainly applied to heavy vehicles with a total weight exceeding 7.5 tons. Lighter vehicles, including private cars, were not subject to the toll.
2. Toll roads: The MAUT generally applied to motorways and selected federal roads in Germany. Local roads were not included in the toll system.
3. Toll calculation: The MAUT toll was based on the distance traveled and the vehicle’s CO₂ emissions. More polluting vehicles were subject to higher tolls.
4. Payment systems: Heavy vehicle drivers had to register and pay the toll through various systems, such as onboard units or online registration. Payment could be made per kilometer traveled or via a fixed fee.

According to official transport sector sources, the new tariffs will take effect from December 1, 2023, and the new German toll system (“MAUT”) will no longer apply only to heavy vehicles. The toll increase will also be linked to CO₂ emissions. The vast majority of vehicles will fall under CO₂ Emission Class 1, which is also the most expensive category.

CO₂ Emission Class 1 will include:

• All vehicles in Euro 0 – Euro V categories;
• All Euro VI vehicles registered before July 2019;
• Most Euro VI vehicles first registered after July 2019

Toll Collect is the name of the German federal authority responsible for toll collection and enforcement, which will classify all vehicles in CO₂ Emission Class 1. Owners of Euro VI vehicles first registered after July 2019 must check whether their vehicle may qualify for a better classification, using Toll Collect’s emission class checker.
Gas-powered vehicles (CNG/LNG) will continue to benefit from exemption from the German Lkw-Maut until December 31, 2023. Starting from January 1, 2024, these vehicles will be subject to the full tariff based on their respective Euro and CO₂ emission class.
It is also worth noting the change regarding vehicle classification by weight category. As of December 1, 2023, the basis for weight classification will no longer be the Maximum Permissible Weight (MPW), but the technically permissible total mass, i.e., the figure shown in the registration certificate in field F.1 instead of F.2.
In short, some vehicles that were previously exempt may now become subject to toll payment or fall into a different toll category.
These toll adjustments will inevitably impact freight forwarders: shipping and logistics companies will have to pay a surcharge per ton of CO₂.
As a customer of Sogedim SpA, you can rely on our long-standing experience in the transport sector across more than 50 countries.
Wissing, German Federal Minister for Transport and Digital Infrastructure, stated that the aim of these toll adjustments is to achieve “a moderate increase in tariffs in order to finance Germany’s infrastructure in the future.”
The German government identified three main objectives behind the Maut toll increase:

• 1. To promote the ecological transition towards lower-impact vehicles;
  2. To improve road conditions;
  3. To share costs with users who place the greatest burden on infrastructure.

It should be remembered that “Fit for 55” refers to the EU’s target of reducing net greenhouse gas emissions by at least 55% by 2030.
Starting from 2026, zero-emission trucks will be charged only 25% of the standard toll rate.
Further updates will be provided as soon as they become available.
Sources: IRU – BGL
For further details or specific requests, we kindly invite you to contact us directly through our website or by phone.
Sincerely