Germany to extend the exemption for trucks with alternative propulsion
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The Bundesrat has approved legislation to extend the exemption from road tolls for heavy goods vehicles running on natural gas. Originally, trucks powered with environmentally friendly gas fuel were supposed to operate free of charge on German motorways and federal roads only until the end of this year.
LNG and CNG trucks will be exempt from German tolls not until the end of 2020, but longer – until the end of 2023. The draft legislation was approved by the Bundesrat last Friday. Before the rules enter into force, the president has yet to sign them.
As a reminder, since the beginning of 2019, CNG and Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG) trucks and electric trucks have been exempted from road tolls in Germany, which were extended to all federal roads in the country in mid-2018.
Depending on the weight class, the savings that follow are between 9.3 and 18.7 cents per kilometre compared to a vehicle of the same size that has the latest Euro 6 diesel engine.
The draft legislation was very controversial in Germany. Environmental experts protested against the new legislation because they believe that CNG and LNG are not environmentally friendly alternatives to diesel.