BRUSSELS – Truck toll costs in Europe have risen by around 20 percent since 2023. During 2026, toll rates, networks or systems changed almost every month somewhere in Europe, and further major changes are scheduled for 2027. The trend is increasingly towards distance-based charging and toll rates linked to the CO₂ emissions of trucks.
European countries currently use several different tolling systems. Eleven countries operate distance-based charging, where trucks pay per kilometre travelled using satellite positioning or roadside technology. Six countries use time-based vignettes, while seven operate toll gates with location-based rates.
Cyprus, Finland and Malta currently do not levy tolls on trucks.
Under the revised Eurovignette Directive, truck vignettes will in principle no longer be permitted on the core trans-European TEN-T road network from March 2030, except in justified cases.
CO₂ becomes major part of truck tolls
Under distance-based schemes, toll rates can consist of up to four components: infrastructure, air pollution, noise and CO₂ emissions.
Since 25 March 2026, an air-pollution charge based on the vehicle’s Euro emission class has been mandatory on tolled EU road networks, subject to certain exemptions. A noise charge remains optional.
The CO₂ class of a truck is also becoming increasingly important. Trucks are classified from CO₂ class 1, which carries the highest charge, to class 5 for zero-emission vehicles.
In Germany, a 40-tonne, five-axle Euro VI truck in CO₂ class 1 currently pays EUR 0.35 per kilometre on motorways. According to IRU, 45.4 percent of this amount relates to the CO₂ charge, while infrastructure accounts for 44.5 percent.
Based on diesel prices in mid-September and fuel consumption of 30 litres per 100 kilometres, fuel and toll costs combined amount to EUR 1.09 per kilometre.
More countries introduce CO₂ charging
Nine European countries had already incorporated CO₂ pricing into their truck tolls before 2026. Bulgaria followed in June 2026, increasing the toll for a heavy Euro VI truck by around 17 percent.
The Netherlands and Flanders followed in July.
Germany also introduced stricter CO₂ class thresholds on 1 July based on revised EU reference values. As a result, the same truck can move into a less favourable CO₂ class and become more expensive to operate without any change to the actual toll tariff structure.
IRU therefore advises fleet operators to check the CO₂ class of each truck with their toll provider.
European toll index continues to rise
Many European countries introduced inflation-linked toll increases of around 1 to 5 percent at the beginning of 2026.
Austria recorded a significantly higher increase of 7.7 percent, almost entirely due to its CO₂ charge.
Poland increased its toll rates in two stages to approximately 40 percent above 2025 levels and added another 645 kilometres of roads to its tolled network.
IRU’s EU toll index, which tracks the same heavy truck every week across 19 countries, stood at 116.6 in mid-September. This was around 17 percent higher than at the beginning of 2023 and 7 percent higher year on year.
The Czech Republic, Latvia and Slovakia have also expanded their tolled road networks.
However, not all developments resulted in higher costs. Hungary cancelled a planned March increase on its main roads, Slovakia kept its rates unchanged, while Portugal and Spain removed tolls from certain roads.
Dutch truck toll rises again in 2027
The Netherlands introduced its distance-based truck charge on 1 July 2026.
From September until the end of December, all rates were temporarily reduced by 22.3 percent in response to sharply rising fuel costs.
This temporary reduction ends on 1 January 2027, when the full rates return. An additional indexation of 2.6 percent is also planned.
For a Euro VI truck weighing more than 32 tonnes in CO₂ class 1, this means an increase from EUR 0.156 to EUR 0.206 per kilometre, according to IRU.
This represents an increase of around 32 percent, or approximately EUR 500 for every 10,000 kilometres driven on tolled roads. The 2027 rates were still provisional in mid-September.
Romania replaces vignette with kilometre charge
Romania introduced a distance-based truck toll on 1 October. The new TollRo system replaces the vignette for goods vehicles weighing more than 3.5 tonnes.
A Euro VI truck weighing at least 12 tonnes pays RON 0.48 per kilometre on motorways, equivalent to approximately EUR 0.10. The rate on national roads is half this amount.
On-board units and EETS support will become available from 15 January 2027. Until then, operators must pay using a route ticket or an app.
Lithuania launches distance-based tolling
The transition towards kilometre-based charging will continue in 2027. Lithuania launches its new Via Toll system on 1 January, including a CO₂ component.
The average rate for a Euro VI truck weighing more than 12 tonnes with up to three axles will be EUR 0.111 per kilometre.
Annual toll revenue is expected to increase from EUR 70 million to EUR 110 million while traffic volumes remain broadly unchanged. This means operators will pay more on average, particularly high-mileage and international transit traffic.
Slovakia changes toll equipment
Slovakia plans to bring truck toll collection in-house from 1 January 2027.
Trucks currently using SkyToll on-board units will have to switch to a new national device or use an EETS provider.
The procedure for exchanging the equipment had not yet been published. Slovakia’s national audit office has therefore described the planned implementation date as risky.
New truck tolls in eastern France
Major changes are also coming to eastern France. The R-Pass system is scheduled to start in Alsace on 1 January for trucks weighing more than 3.5 tonnes.
The kilometre charge will cover approximately 200 kilometres of roads, with rates ranging from EUR 0.07 to EUR 0.34 per kilometre.
The rest of the Grand Est region has announced plans for a similar levy on approximately 525 kilometres of roads from 1 April. Details of this system still have to be finalised.
Croatia removes traditional toll booths
Croatia will replace traditional toll booths with free-flow gantries from 1 March 2027.
A tag or on-board unit will become mandatory for all freight vehicles. Trucks will therefore no longer have to stop at toll booths to make payments.
Sweden will also extend its vignette system to goods vehicles weighing more than 3.5 tonnes from March.
Denmark and Poland not yet final
Not all announced changes have yet become law.
Denmark’s proposed extension of its kilometre-based toll to vehicles weighing more than 3.5 tonnes is frequently presented as a confirmed measure, but according to IRU it had not yet been adopted into law.
Poland’s proposed CO₂ and air-pollution charges have also not yet been finalised.
Germany, meanwhile, is preparing a new road-cost study for the period from 2028 to 2032. Its findings will be used for new toll legislation and will result in the first major reset of German toll rates since July 2024.
Toll equipment must be ready for 4G
Changes are not limited to rates and toll systems. Fleet operators also need to consider the technology installed in their trucks.
French mobile operators will switch off their 2G networks by the end of 2026, while Germany will follow in 2028. New toll domains will not support 2G technology.
IRU therefore advises transport operators to replace older 2G on-board units in time.
From 2027, six different toll domains will meet around the French Grand Est region. A single active 4G EETS unit can be used across these systems, provided that the operator’s EETS provider supports the relevant toll domains.
Further changes towards 2030
Estonia, Latvia, Luxembourg and Sweden currently still use truck vignettes. With the European ban on such systems on the core TEN-T network approaching in March 2030, these countries will also have to decide how their future truck tolling systems will operate.
From mid-2031, EU countries will no longer be allowed to fully exempt zero-emission trucks from tolls. Instead, these vehicles will receive a reduction of between 50 and 75 percent.
According to IRU, changes to European truck tolling have now become so frequent that transport operators can no longer afford to check their toll costs only once a year in January. Rates, CO₂ classifications, tolled road networks and payment systems can all change during the year.
