The European Parliament has approved a five-year extension to the deadline that allows member states to fully exempt zero-emission trucks and buses from CO2-based road user charges, known as the Eurovignette.
The Eurovignette is a road toll for all commercial vehicles and vehicle combinations with a gross vehicle weight of 12 tonnes or more.
The current deadline for exempting electric trucks from the Eurovignette is 31 December 2025. The EU Parliament has now voted in favour of extending that deadline to 30 June 2031, to speed up the currently sluggish take-up of zero-emission trucks and buses.
The move has been welcomed by the European Automobile Manufacturers’ Association (ACEA) this week as a “crucial step” to accelerating the transition towards climate-neutral road transport.
However, the ACEA called for more EU countries to implement the CO2 road based charge, which it said remains patchy, with only two member states currently granting full exemptions for zero-emission trucks and another ten applying reduced rates for zero-emission trucks. The remaining 15 member states currently do not make use the Eurovignette at all.
Full toll exemptions for zero-emission vehicles (ZEVs) are among the most effective and targeted measures to improve cost parity between ZEVs and conventional vehicles, according to ACEA.
Thomas Fabian, ACEA chief commercial vehicles officer, said: “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? 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.”
ACEA is urging member states to act swiftly once the European Council formally adopts the proposal. It is calling for those states that have not yet introduced CO2-based road charges to accelerate their implementation plans without delay.
The 2030 CO2 targets require manufacturers to reduce the average CO2 emissions of new trucks, interurban buses and coaches by 45%. This requires around 400,000 zero-emission heavy-duty vehicles to be in operation by then.
