Eng
This summer, Germany's new road tolls will affect more businesses domestically and abroad. Starting this July, carriers using commercial trucks weighing less than 7.5 tons will be required to pay road tolls in Germany. Previously, these small trucks were able to operate on the German roads without additional tolls.
Not only Germany itself will be affected, but also neighboring countries such as Poland, with its tens of thousands of vehicles moving in and out of Germany. The impact of the increase in road tolls since last December also indicates that hard times are ahead for users of small commercial trucks.
According to Eurostat, the Polish truck fleet of 3.5–7.5 ton trucks, which will have to pay the new, higher duties if they cross the border with Germany, totaled 265,200 units in 2022. These small trucks make up approximately 35% of Poland's commercial truck fleet.
As a reminder, in Germany, starting December 2023, an environmental levy was added to road tolls for trucks weighing more than 7.5 tons. For the most common models weighing more than 16 tons, the increase in tolls reached 83%. Moreover, the transit through Germany increased in price by approximately 100 Euro. Now there will be another factor driving up the cost of doing business, especially in a low demand environment.
However, there is a loophole for enterprising carriers: according to the Toll Collect GmbH website, sets of vehicles with a total weight of more than 3.5 tons will be exempted from paying the toll if the haulage truck on its own is within the limit of 3.5 tons. Such a vehicle with a trailer or semi-trailer will save the carrier at least 15 Euro per 100 km, compared to a 7.5 ton truck carrying the same amount of goods.
Source: trans.info