麻豆传媒

It might be hard not to see road tolls as an inconvenience. But could they be instrumental in driving the adoption of lower-emission vehicles and fuels in the EU鈥檚 heavy-duty road transport sector?

While discussions around decarbonisation are 鈥� understandably 鈥� dominated by the need to make low-emission trucking more affordable, bringing down the cost of low-emission vehicles and the fuels that power them is not the only way to incentivise their adoption.

As the sector transitions from diesel to alternative lower-carbon fuels and technologies, these options are becoming increasingly viable and cost-effective. For example, the International Council on Clean Transportation predicts that battery electric trucks will offer a lower total cost of ownership (TCO) than diesel trucks by 2030.¹

To accelerate this shift, European policymakers are implementing measures like carbon-emission based road toll tariffs to encourage fleet managers to invest in both lower-emission vehicles available and adopt lower-carbon fuels. Electronic tolling solutions can help fleets navigate the growing complexity of these tolling systems. Here鈥檚 why these measures are crucial鈥攁nd how electronic tolling can support the transition.

Tolling: An old solution to a newer problem

The reality for businesses is that heavy-duty vehicles are responsible for more than 25% of greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions from road transport in the EU and account for over 6% of total EU GHG emissions.² This needs to change. While heavy-duty vehicles have become more efficient due to technological innovation, gains are quickly overridden by rising demand. With 80% of goods transported by road in the European Union, trucks form the backbone of trade and commerce across the continent.³ Today, nearly 6.5 million medium-duty and heavy-duty trucks are in circulation within the EU, marking a 1.9% increase compared to 2021, and the demand for road freight to support Europe鈥檚 economy is set to continue.⁴

Also, the sector is highly competitive, with decisions driven by cost. So, a broad range of measures need to be deployed to incentivise the transition to more sustainable solutions. Tolling is far from a new way to shape behaviour out on the roads. But, with the growth of carbon emission-based road toll tariffs, it is emerging as one tool for countries to support the shift towards a more sustainable future for heavy-duty road transport.

How carbon emission-based road toll tariffs can support fleet sustainability

Carbon emission-based road toll tariffs is what its name suggests. It creates new tolling tariffs for low-emission trucks, allowing markets to make it cheaper for the fleets operating them to use the roads in that market. With the adoption of the EU鈥檚 鈥楨urovignette鈥� directive, road tolls based on distance must offer at least 50% discounts for low-emission trucks.⁵ Member states can also choose to levy additional charges on vehicles powered by conventional fuels like diesel.

For example, the Federal Highways Toll Act in Germany introduced a CO₂ component within its toll tariffs from December 2023. This eliminates toll exemptions for natural gas vehicles while expanding toll coverage to vehicles weighing over 3.5 tons.⁶ The purpose? To make road transport more eco-efficient and reward lower-emission vehicles, which will be exempt from tolls until 31 December 2025.⁶

Since road tolls can cost businesses up to 鈧�25,000 per truck every year, switching to low-emission vehicles can offer cost-reduction benefits.⁵ This can encourage the use of lower-emission trucks and changes the TCO calculation for fleet managers. It is another element helping lower-emission powertrains reach TCO parity with their diesel counterparts 鈥� helping to accelerate the adoption of lower-emission trucks.

Electronic tolling provides a futureproof solution for fleets

One positive for fleet managers is that due to the noted complexity of tolling, a solution already exists in the form of electronic tolling.

The challenges of managing different toll systems across borders are one of the reasons why the EU Commission proposed a revision to the European Electronic Toll Services (EETS) directive in 2017, which was later adopted by the European Parliament and Council in 2019.⁹ The directive encourages the use of a single on-board unit (OBU) that is compatible with all European road charging systems to simplify compliance. Companies like Shell are working to help fleets streamline their toll payment process.

With the Shell EETS Box fleets have access to a simple, plug-in-and-go platform that manages everything from toll payments to discounts, refunds and data management in a single device that can be transferred between vehicles.¹⁰ As EETS domains (or territories) continue to expand and carbon regulations and tolling requirements evolve, updates are wirelessly added to the OBU via satellite, negating the need for fleet managers to stay on top of the ever-changing tolling landscape.

This allows fleets to travel through Europe with confidence, with a single platform to manage everything from toll payments, discounts, and refunds to invoicing and data management. Covering more than 15 countries, it helps fleets take the complexity and hassle out of EETS.⁹

EETS-compliant technology will be crucial for fleets in transition

Looking ahead, tolling will play a growing role in helping the heavy-duty road transport sector to address its carbon footprint. For fleets, this means being able to manage new (and differing) carbon emission-based road toll tariffs charging systems across Europe effectively 鈥� making electronic tolling essential.

To easily access the discounts available on lower-emission vehicles (and to streamline payments for their diesel vehicles), fleets will need EETS-compliant technology that makes their tolling processes simple and efficient. With this futureproof technology in place, updating in real time alongside the tolling landscape - they can reduce the TCO and make low-emission vehicles more attractive 鈥� strengthening the business case for change by achieving cost parity with diesel-powered vehicles sooner¹¹.

Find out more about how your heavy-duty road transport fleet can streamline toll payments, cut administrative costs and accelerate your transition to more sustainable fleet vehicles with easy electronic tolling across Europe here.

Disclaimers

¹ _{The International Council on Clean Transportation. 鈥�.鈥� 2023.}

² _{European Parliament. 鈥�.鈥� 2024.}

³ _{ACEA. 鈥�.鈥� 2023.}

⁴ _{ACEA. 鈥�.鈥� 2024.}

⁵ _{Euractiv. 鈥�.鈥� 2022.}

⁶ _{Federal Ministry for Digital and Transport. 鈥�.鈥� 2024.}

⁷ _{Transport & Environment. 鈥�.鈥� 2024.}

⁸ _{Shell. 鈥�Effortless European Tolling with Shell鈥檚 EETS Box.鈥� N.D.}

⁹ _{European Parliament. 鈥溾��. 2019.}

¹⁰ _{Available through easy registration via Shell Fleet Hub.}

¹¹ _{Shell. 鈥�Cautionary Note鈥�.&苍产蝉辫;2024.}