Toll Collect road chargers to increase in Germany from July 2024
In December 2023, new Toll Collect charge rates came into force in Germany. Developed under the terms of a government programme, these rates are the first in a series of changes.
Toll Collect is a German company that collects motorway tolls. It has developed a toll system that applies to all vehicles in Germany. In addition to the innovation at the end of 2023, a further revision of the rates is planned for July 2024. These two phases of new rates are for different types of vehicles:
- in 2023, the revision affected trucks of 7.5 tonnes or more;
- in 2024, the change will be for cars of 3.5 tonnes and over.
It is worth noting that the Toll Collect system for travelling on German roads includes the collection of an amount that goes to compensate for three components:
- infrastructure maintenance tax;
- a motorway noise tax;
- an air pollution charge.
According to the new tariff, these taxes now include a tariff compensating for greenhouse gas emissions. As a result, road tolls for trucks have risen by 40% or more, in some cases by as much as 83%. The new tariffs will be most painful for vehicles registered before the second half of 2019. They belong to the first category in terms of carbon dioxide emissions.
The new system also affects the rules for changing the gross weight of a truck. Until December last year, the control authorities relied on the information in the vehicle’s registration documents. There was a mechanism to reduce the official weight of a vehicle to place it in a lower toll category. Now, in order to determine the toll category, the weight allowed according to the technical characteristics is taken into account. Therefore, the value indicated in the registration documents is not considered. In most cases, however, these figures will be the same.
What hauliers can expect from July 2024
From July 2024, the new charges for using German roads will also apply to hauliers using trucks weighing 3.5 tonnes or more. In addition, from the beginning of 2024, vehicles using liquefied or compressed gas will also pay the charge.
In 2024-2025, electric and hydrogen vehicles will be exempt from the charge. From 2026, zero-emission vehicles will have to pay an amount equivalent to 25 per cent of the infrastructure levy, as well as part of the noise and pollution charges.
