NUFAM DAY 2024: Heated discussion on the lorry toll - watch the video to find out more
Will the renewed truck toll contribute to the transformation of the industry towards emission-free drives or is it just a hidden tax increase? The debate about this heated up at the second NUFAM DAY. Watch the discussion here.
If lorries that transport goods are powered by electricity, it will be cheaper for hauliers. If, on the other hand, they drive with diesel engines, companies will have to pay extra thanks to the new lorry toll. The aim is to encourage providers to switch to alternative drive types.
So far, so good!
In the commercial vehicle industry, however, the toll met with some fierce resistance even before it came into force - for various reasons. The necessary infrastructure for e-trucks was lacking, applications for subsidies were far too complicated, and the toll was damaging the German economy - to name just a few.
At the second NUFAM DAY at the Karlsruhe Trade Fair Centre, experts therefore discussed the topic that is currently of greatest concern to the commercial vehicle industry. The question was: lorry tolls - successful climate policy or a tax increase through the back door?
Britta Wirtz, Managing Director of Messe Karlsruhe, Jochen Bortfeld, Project Manager at NUFAM, and Matthias Jundt, PR Manager at NUFAM, opened the discussion.
The talk was moderated by journalist and industry expert Marcus Walter. His discussion partners were Tobias Lang (Managing Director of the Verband des Verkehrsgewerbes Baden e.V. (partner association of the Bundesverband Güterkraftverkehr Logistik und Entsorgung), Florian Hacker (Deputy Head of Resources & Mobility at the Öko-Institut e.V.), Rainer Schmitt (Managing Director of Walter Schmitt GmbH) and Dr Patrick Plötz (Head of the Energy Economics business unit at Fraunhofer ISI).
The discussion
Lang said: "There are EU requirements that we have implemented. But we have done much more than we had to do. The fact is: the toll is a massive additional burden. We can call it a tax increase. Someone has to pay the more than seven billion we are talking about."
Freight forwarder Schmitt made it clear: "We at Spedition Schmitt are pioneers in e-mobility. Nevertheless, the toll burden is also immense for us. And this additional burden falls on a very weak industry. I therefore appeal to politicians: please use the toll for the road infrastructure as well and not just for the railways."
Plötz said: "Good policy does not consist of just one measure. And the political mix is not yet ideal. The timing of the toll can be debated. I can only say to all logistics companies and hauliers: enter the market for electrically powered lorries in good time."
Hacker added: "The toll is de facto an increase. I was surprised that the federal government managed to pull this off. Comparatively little is happening in the car sector. Shifting transport to rail is currently not attractive enough. At the moment, companies do not yet have the option of using alternative drive systems to cushion the costs of the toll."
Watch the video here
The entire 90-minute discussion can be viewed on the NUFAM website and on the commercial vehicle trade fair's YouTube channel. The video of the first NUFAM DAY can also be found there, in which it was discussed which alternative drive type will be the one of the future.
Following the discussion on 20 June, interested parties took the opportunity to view and discuss the latest technology from the commercial vehicle industry at an exhibition while enjoying food and drinks. Among the exhibiting companies were S&G Automobil AG, IVECO Süd-West Nutzfahrzeuge GmbH, TYN-e GmbH, Webfleet, Recycling Activ & Tiefbau Live, Das Verkehrsministerium Baden-Württemberg, EBB Truck-Center GmbH DAF Truck Dealer, Tiropatrans Vertriebs GmbH, Martin Knirsch Kraftfahrzeuge GmbH, Weick Consulting GmbH, SATLOG GmbH, Bernard Krone GmbH and Karl Müller GmbH und Co KG.
