Overview
- Lawmakers approved the government's Fourth Act to amend toll regulations with votes from CDU/CSU, SPD, the Greens and The Left, while the AfD voted against.
- Without the decision, the current exemption would have ended on December 31, 2025, triggering tolls for zero-emission trucks from January 1, 2026.
- The law introduces app-based registration for tolled vehicles, requires transmission of blocked on-board unit lists to BALM, and sets six-year reviews for emissions classes 2 and 3.
- Industry groups welcomed greater planning certainty but criticized the exclusion of logistics firms from the industrial electricity price and from §9c electricity tax relief.
- Germany first introduced preferential treatment for battery-electric trucks in December 2023 alongside higher CO2-tiered tolls, and the exemption now runs until mid-2031.