Updated May 2026

Germany's truck toll is the single largest variable cost line for most fleets running into or across the country — and since December 2023, the way it's calculated has changed twice. CO₂ emissions are now a tariff component in their own right, the toll threshold dropped to 3.5 tonnes in July 2024, and the rate you pay per kilometre depends on a four-way mix of vehicle weight, axle count, Euro pollutant class, and CO₂ emission class.

This guide breaks down what your truck actually pays per kilometre on German motorways and Bundesstraßen today, what each component of the rate covers, and how the December 2025 amendment that extended the zero-emission exemption to mid-2031 changes fleet planning. All figures come straight from Toll Collect and the Bundesamt für Logistik und Mobilität (BALM).

How the German truck toll is calculated

Germany's toll is a per-kilometre charge applied to trucks above 3.5 tonnes technically permissible mass on federal motorways (Autobahnen) and federal trunk roads (Bundesstraßen). The total rate you pay per kilometre is the sum of four separate components, each priced according to a different vehicle attribute.

The CO₂ component is the part that changed everything. Before December 2023, the toll was infrastructure + air pollution + noise. The CO₂ rate added a fourth line that, for a typical articulated Euro 6 truck in CO₂ class 1, contributes roughly 15.8 cent per kilometre on its own — almost as much as the infrastructure component itself. The Federal Transport Ministry's 2023 reform translated EU CO₂ pricing of €200 per tonne into per-kilometre toll surcharges.

Current Toll Collect rates per kilometre

The rate tables below are published by Toll Collect and have been in force since 1 July 2024. The first table covers CO₂ class 1 — where every vehicle is placed by default — across all six weight/axle classes and all seven Euro pollutant classes. The second covers Euro 6 vehicles across the better CO₂ classes (2, 3, and 4), which is the only segment Toll Collect publishes for those CO₂ tiers.

If a post-July-2019 vehicle qualifies for CO₂ class 2, 3, or 4, the lower rates in the second table apply. Default placement is class 1 — re-classification to a better class requires an application through the Toll Collect customer portal with supporting documentation.

The spread across the schedule is over fourfold: a Euro 0 or Euro 1 articulated truck above 18 tonnes with 5+ axles in CO₂ class 1 pays 51.6 cent per kilometre — the highest rate. A Euro 6 truck in the lightest bracket (3.5–7.49 t) in CO₂ class 4 pays 11.4 cent per kilometre — the lowest. Both run on the same toll network.

Weight classes, axles, and the F1 vs. F2 question

Since 1 December 2023, the weight that determines your tariff is the technisch zulässige Gesamtmasse (tzGm), shown in field F.1 of the German vehicle registration document. This replaced the previous reference to the zulässiges Gesamtgewicht (zGG) in field F.2. The two are usually identical, but they diverge often enough that some vehicles moved up a weight class overnight when the rule changed — and into a more expensive bracket.

For vehicle combinations, the F1 weight of the tractor and the trailer are added together. The same applies to axle count: tandem axles count as two, tridem axles count as three, and lift axles are counted whether they're in road contact or raised. This catches operators who assume a raised lift axle saves them a tariff class — it doesn't.

CO₂ emission classes: where the real savings sit

Every truck is initially placed in CO₂ class 1 (the most expensive) by Toll Collect. Vehicles first registered before 1 July 2019 can only be in class 1 — there's no legal pathway to a better class for older trucks. For vehicles registered after that date, you have to apply for a re-classification through the Toll Collect customer portal, supported by documentation: either the registration certificate, a customer information file (CIF), a certificate of conformity (CoC), or single-vehicle approval papers.

The class system runs from 1 (least efficient) through 4 (most efficient diesel/gas), plus class 5 (zero-emission vehicles, separately handled). The cost difference is significant: for a heavy articulated truck, moving from class 1 to class 4 cuts the rate from 34.8 to 26.9 cent per kilometre — that's 7.9 cent saved on every kilometre, or roughly €7,900 per year per truck at 100,000 km annual mileage. Most fleets that operate post-July-2019 vehicles haven't completed the re-classification, and they're paying for the paperwork gap.

The reference values that determine which class a vehicle qualifies for tighten every year. Until 2026 the annual reduction is 2.5%, and from 2027 it becomes 3% per year. A truck that qualifies for class 2 today may slip back to class 1 in two or three years without any change to the vehicle itself — the bar moves. New vehicle purchase decisions need to factor in this trajectory, not just today's classification.

Zero-emission trucks: exempt until June 2031

The Bundestag passed the Vierte Gesetz zur Änderung mautrechtlicher Vorschriften (Fourth Act Amending Toll Regulations) on 13 November 2025, and it entered into force on 1 December 2025. The headline change for fleet planners: the toll exemption for zero-emission vehicles, which was set to expire on 31 December 2025, has been extended to 30 June 2031.

Two tiers of exemption apply:

Zero-emission vehicles up to 4.25 tonnes (tzGm) — permanent toll exemption, no expiry date. This covers most electric light commercial vehicles and small electric trucks.

Zero-emission vehicles above 4.25 tonnes — exempt until 30 June 2031. From 1 July 2031, current legislation envisions a reduced rate (75% discount on the infrastructure component, with the air pollution and CO₂ components remaining zero by definition), though the EU's Eurovignette Directive framework that governs this could shift before then.

This decision uses the maximum exemption period the EU Eurovignette Directive allows member states to grant. Germany was previously planning to let the exemption lapse at the end of 2025; the November 2025 vote in the Bundestag passed with cross-party support — CDU/CSU, SPD, Greens, and Die Linke all voted in favour.

For fleet operators previously holding back electric truck purchases because of uncertainty about post-2025 toll treatment, the planning horizon now extends to mid-2031. The BMV's own framing of the law change was that fleets now have "planning certainty" — the practical implication is that depreciation models on a five-year truck purchase no longer need to assume toll costs in years 4 and 5.

What this actually costs a real fleet

Toll costs scale linearly with kilometres driven, but the absolute numbers are easier to grasp in concrete fleet terms. Three typical German freight operations:

The single biggest accuracy lever isn't switching trucks — it's getting the data right. Operating in the wrong weight class, missing a re-classification application that would move a post-2019 truck into a better CO₂ class, or running a lift axle as raised-and-uncounted all cost money silently month after month.

How to pay: OBU, manual booking, and the new TollNow app

Toll collection runs through three booking channels:

On-Board Unit (OBU). The hardware unit installed in the vehicle that books trips automatically using GPS and DSRC. This is the standard for any fleet running into Germany regularly — installation is one-time, billing is monthly through the Toll Collect customer portal. Toll Collect started rolling out a new generation of OBUs in 2024; older units are being replaced on a rolling schedule.

Manual booking. Trip-by-trip booking through the Toll Collect website or terminals. Used by occasional drivers and operators with low German mileage. The trip has to be booked before the start of the journey, with the start and end address entered manually.

TollNow app. A GPS-based smartphone booking method launched by Toll Collect at the start of 2026, with legal basis created by the December 2025 amendment. The app is positioned for occasional users who don't want to install OBU hardware — it replaces the manual web-based booking with a mobile, partly-automated alternative that captures driven sections automatically. For fleets making fewer than around ten trips into Germany per year, this removes the OBU installation cost while still giving more automation than pure manual booking.

Whichever booking method you use, the responsibility for correct data — weight class, axle count, emission class, CO₂ class — sits with the operator. BALM enforces this through roadside controls and post-trip audits, and underpayment is recoverable with a fine on top.