Germany is Europe’s electric truck market by volume — 4,766 registrations in 2025, roughly 5.5% of new externally chargeable trucks — and by policy depth. Its incentive architecture is the most coherent on the continent: punish diesel through the toll, exempt electric through law, and let the carbon market top up charging economics.

The toll foundation. Since December 2023, Germany’s truck toll carries a steep CO₂ surcharge — a Euro VI long-haul diesel pays roughly €0.30–0.35/km all-in. Zero-emission trucks were exempted from the start, and after a nerve-wracking 2025 in which the exemption’s expiry loomed, the Fourth Toll Amendment Act (in force December 2025) extended it to 30 June 2031, the maximum the Eurovignette Directive allows. Vehicles under 4.25t are permanently exempt. At German mileages the exemption is worth €30,000–50,000 per truck per year — Europe’s largest single operating incentive. Note the administrative rhythm: Toll Collect auto-extends existing ZE registrations to end-2027, after which re-registration is required, and the exemption does not follow the truck across borders.

Purchase and carbon layers. Federal purchase funding has run in programme waves with variable budgets — treat it as opportunistic rather than bankable and watch for new windows (we flag them in the newsletter). More durable is the THG quota: the greenhouse-gas reduction obligation rises to 12% in 2026 with tightened crediting rules, which supports premium prices for the charging certificates depot and public operators can sell — a real, if modest, revenue line improving the business case for owned charging infrastructure.

Infrastructure and market structure. Milence hubs, a dense OEM service landscape and the strongest utility engagement in Europe make Germany the easiest large market to operate in — but grid connection lead times remain the binding constraint, with regional variation extreme enough to make site selection an energy decision first. Chinese entrants have noticed where the volume is: SANY chose Germany for its European beachhead for exactly these reasons.

WattTonne’s read. For any fleet with German routes, 2026–2031 is the incentive window to build against: start grid applications now, electrify the depot-served duty cycles first, and let the toll exemption amortise the learning curve.