CO2-Based Tolls Are Expanding: What the Eurovignette Shift Means for Your Fleet Costs

More EU member states are moving toll calculations away from Euro emission class alone and toward CO2 output per vehicle, changing how hauliers should budget for 2026 and beyond.

The shift from Euro class to CO2 output

The revised Eurovignette Directive, which EU member states have been transposing into national law on a rolling basis, requires infrastructure charges for heavy vehicles to be linked to CO2 emissions rather than relying solely on the older Euro emission class bands. Several countries that operate distance-based tolling networks, including Germany's Maut system as the reference model others are following, have already restructured their tariff tables so that a vehicle's certified CO2 class sits alongside axle configuration and weight as a core pricing input.

For fleets, this is not a cosmetic change. Two trucks with the same Euro 6 rating can now attract different toll rates if one has a more favourable CO2 performance certificate under the EU's Vehicle Energy Consumption Calculation Tool (VECTO). Older Euro 6 units bought before manufacturers optimised for VECTO scoring may end up paying more per kilometre than newer models with identical emission class labels.

Why this catches fleets off guard

Many operators still budget tolls using flat per-kilometre assumptions based on vehicle class and country, a method that worked when Euro class was the only variable. With CO2-linked tariffs spreading, that approach now systematically under- or over-estimates costs, particularly for mixed fleets that combine trucks bought across several purchasing cycles.

The practical risk is in tendering and pricing freight. A haulier who quotes a shipper based on last year's toll assumptions may find the actual cost per kilometre has moved by a noticeable margin once the new CO2 bands apply, especially on long cross-border corridors through Germany, Austria and increasingly other networks adopting similar logic.

What fleet managers should check now

First, confirm the VECTO CO2 class certificate for each vehicle in the fleet rather than assuming Euro 6 status is enough information. This certificate, generated at the point of type approval or through retrofit calculations, is what toll authorities now reference. Second, re-run toll cost projections per route and per vehicle rather than using fleet-wide averages, since the gap between best and worst CO2 performers in a mixed fleet can be material over a full year of cross-border running.

Third, factor this into freight pricing discussions with shippers now, before contracts are renewed, rather than absorbing the difference. Toll cost is one of the few fully transparent inputs in a freight rate and shippers increasingly expect hauliers to show their working.

How FleetlySolutions handles this

FleetlySolutions' route and toll planning module pulls current national toll tariffs, including CO2-linked bands where they apply, and matches them against each vehicle's registered emissions data rather than a generic Euro class assumption. This means route cost estimates and per-kilometre freight pricing reflect the actual toll a specific truck will be charged, not a fleet average.

Because the platform is software-first and does not depend on telematics hardware installed in the cab, updating a vehicle's CO2 profile or adding a new unit to the fleet takes minutes rather than requiring a workshop visit or hardware reflash. That matters when toll tariff structures are being revised country by country and fleets need pricing accuracy to hold up in tender negotiations.