German road tolls to double

Date Added: 21 June 2023

German road tolls to double

As a major provider of European overland trailer services, Davies Turner notes that road transport in Germany is facing a drastic increase in the HGV motorway toll charge, known as the LKW-Maut, from 1 January 2024.

Berlin plans to increase the LKW-Maut toll for a 40-tonne truck rise from EUR0.19 to between EUR0.35 and EUR40 per kilometre, depending on various factors.
 
Furthermore, the weight threshold for the toll charges will be lowered from 7.5 tonnes of total weight today to 3.5 tonnes. The coalition parties are agreed, with the German parliament, the Bundestag, due to vote on the government’s proposal later this year.
 
Most of the increase is due to a new CO2 surcharge of EUR200 per tonne emitted. It takes burning around 377 litres of diesel to produce one tonne of CO2. SVG (Bundes-Zentralgenossenschaft Straßenverkehr eG), which services road freight transport with electronic LKW-Maut payment settlement and Onboard Unit (OBU) infrastructure, has calculated that 377 litres of diesel will take the average 40-tonne truck about 1,258 kilometres.
 
SVG stated that the annual Maut costs for a heavy truck driving 130,000 km on toll roads will increase from today’s EUR24,700 to about EUR50,000. As details of the final calculation are not known yet, the final cost could be higher, SVG noted. The company estimates a 3.5-tonne truck will pay a minimum EUR0.13/kilometre.
 
The motorway freight traffic toll was previously used exclusively for road improvements. From 2024, however, Berlin wants the increase in the road tolls from the new CO2 surcharge to be earmarked for rail infrastructure modernisation. This would be a significant boost for the rail sector: In 2022 the Maut produced EUR7.4b in revenue for the government. The country’s road transport association BGL (Bundesverband Güterkraftverkehr Logistik und Entsorgung e.V.) is astonished that LGW-Maut costs will be doubling and fears the steep increase will force more operators out of business.

For more information about Davies Turner’s European roadfreight forwarding and logistics services, please contact road@daviesturner.co.uk or visit https://www.daviesturner.com/road-freight

Would you like more information?

I would like to opt-in to receive marketing communications from Davies Turner via:

Track your consignment online to get the latest status

Our core products – in air, ocean, overland forwarding and customs services, as well as in warehouse management and distribution

Click here to track your package

Back To Top

An image of the Top track logo An image of the ROSPA Gold award logo An image of the Rospa gold 22 logo An image of the 90001 logo An image of the 14001 logo An image of the investor in people logo An image of the system alliance europe logo An image of the iata logo An image of the aeo logo An image of the bifa logo An image of the ukwa logo