From 1^st December 2023, Germany will tax CO2 emitted by heavy-duty trucks. In a move designed to motivate heavy-duty truck owners to adopt new technologies in the quest for lower carbon emissions, the new CO2 toll will charge heavy-duty truck owners EUR 200 for every tonne of CO2 emitted from vehicles over 3.5 tonnes. The cost is likely to amount to up to EUR 5,600 for every truck every year.

Some have raised concerns about the issue of German competitiveness but, as widely expected, this is likely to be addressed when the EU follows suit with a similar tax. All eyes will be on Germany from 1^st December to understand the fiscal and competitive impact of the country’s bold move.

According to Daniel Mitchell, CEO of addvantage Global, this is part of a trend. “Governments are between a rock and a hard place trying to deal with carbon emissions from heavy-duty trucks. On the one hand, they are among the worst offenders. On the other hand, carbon-reducing electric and hydrogen technologies are years away. These new carbon taxes are likely to be adopted by the EU and become increasingly stringent,” he noted.

“It’s a key driver for heavy-duty truck fleets testing and installing the addvantage LPG dual-fuel system. The fact that the addvantage system is free to install, yet delivers a 23% reduction in carbon emissions is a major reason why the technology is now gaining significant adoption in the UK and the EU. The fuel-cost saving of 9.5% is clearly an additional driver. We expect to see a rapid uptake of this system by German companies,” he added.

addvantage Autogas dual fuel technology delivers proven fuel-cost savings of 9.5% and cuts CO2 emissions by 23%. If mandated, fitting addvantage to EU and UK fleets would deliver 115% of 2025 emissions targets and 80% of 2030 targets, explained the company.

Source: addvantage

11 October 2023