EU Eases CO2 Requirements and Toll Rules for Truck Manufacturers

On May 5, the EU Parliament approved a targeted amendment to the EU regulations on road usage charges to extend the option of exempting environmentally friendly trucks and buses from toll charges until June 30, 2031. The deputies supported a Commission proposal to extend the exemption option for emission-free heavy commercial vehicles from toll and usage charges or to apply significantly reduced charges. This is to apply for a further five and a half years, from December 31, 2025, to June 30, 2031.

Flexibility without Suspending Long-term Goals The EU maintains its long-term reduction targets for heavy commercial vehicles. CO2 emissions of new trucks are to be reduced by 15 percent compared to 2019 levels by 2025, by 45 percent by 2030, by 65 percent by 2035, and by 90 percent by 2040. The adjustments decided in March 2026 do not affect the target values but the implementation path. Manufacturers are given more opportunities to collect so-called CO2 credits. These are emission credits that can be transferred to later years to offset possible target deviations. This eliminates the previously planned linear tightening of target values between 2025 and 2029. The EU is convinced that this will strengthen investments in emission-free trucks and buses.

Strong Signals for a Business-oriented Climate Policy From the perspective of Swiss automobile importers, these decisions by the EU Parliament are an important signal for a market-oriented climate policy. Thomas Rücker, director of auto-schweiz, says: "The EU has consistently corrected its course and shows that climate policy and economic reality must be thought of and implemented together. The transformation in the commercial vehicle sector will only succeed with a functioning ecosystem. While the EU creates the urgently needed flexibility for passenger cars and now also for heavy commercial vehicles, Switzerland hesitates and thereby jeopardizes its pioneering role in the electrification of heavy transport. While others are becoming more flexible, Switzerland is considering higher or additional charges for electric vehicles and sees no need for similar treatment of domestic companies."

Switzerland Leads in Electric Trucks in Europe
The Swiss commercial vehicle market clearly demonstrates that electrification is fundamentally progressing: With almost 1,000 newly registered electric trucks over 3.5 tons last year, Switzerland achieved a market share of over 22 percent - the highest value in Europe. If long-term investment security is created through regulation, such as the design of the performance-based heavy vehicle fee (LSVA) for emission-free trucks, companies are ready to invest in infrastructure development.

Press Contact:
Frank Keidel, Media Representative
T 076 399 69 06
frank.keidel@auto.swiss

Editor's note: Image rights belong to the respective publisher.