CO₂ emission classes
Vehicles with a technically permissible maximum laden mass of more than 3.5 tonnes must pay a CO₂-dependent toll.
The CO₂ emission class is another tariff-relevant feature alongside the EURO emission class. The toll rate therefore also depends on how much carbon dioxide (CO₂) your vehicle emits. The less CO₂ your vehicle emits, the better it is for the environment and the lower the toll.
Vehicles are assigned to one of the five CO₂ emission classes depending on their CO₂ emissions, with CO₂ emission class 1 being the worst and CO₂ emission class 5 being the best. Vehicles with a better CO₂ emission class pay less toll than vehicles with a worse CO₂ emission class.
CO₂ toll
CO₂ emission classes are used to categorise vehicles and were introduced to reduce traffic-related CO₂ emissions and counteract environmental pollution.
CO₂ calculator
Three values are required to check the CO₂ emission classes:
- Date of first registration
- Vehicle subgroup
- Specific CO₂ emission value
ASFINAG provides a customised service for determining the CO₂ emission class of the respective vehicles. With the CO₂ emission class calculator, you can determine the CO₂ emission class with just a few clicks.
Info
You will need the following vehicle documents to calculate the CO₂ emission class:
- Registration Certificate
- Customer Information File (CIF)*
- Certificate of Conformity (CoC) if applicable
* Since 2019, the Customer Information File (CIF) has been included in the vehicle documents when purchasing the vehicle. If these documents are not available, then the CIF document can be requested directly from the respective vehicle manufacturer/authorised dealer.
Questions and answers
CO₂ emission classes
The Directive 1999/62/EC (Eurovignette Directive) is an EU-wide basis for the levying of road tolls. This new directive includes a new system for reducing CO₂ emissions, which aims to reduce the CO₂ footprint of transport. With a view to climate protection, road user charges must, therefore, be differentiated throughout the EU according to the CO₂ emission class of the vehicles.
The allocation of a vehicle to one of the five CO₂ emission classes is based on the date of initial registration, the vehicle subgroup and the specific CO₂ emission value.
To date, only the vehicle subgroups of vehicle groups 4, 5, 9 and 10 CO₂ reference values have been set, which decrease annually. Starting in 2019, there is a CO₂ emission reduction curve for each vehicle subgroup (reduction of 2.5%/year until 2025, 3.0%/year between 2026 and 2030). The reduction of the CO₂ reference value always takes place for the period 01.07-30.06. of the following year. The percentage deviation of the specific CO₂ emission value of the vehicle from the CO₂ reference value of the respective vehicle subgroup at the time of classification determines the CO₂ emission class of the vehicle. There is currently no CO₂ reference value for buses and motorhomes; these are automatically assigned to CO₂ emission class 1 – Exception: zero-emission vehicles are assigned to CO₂ emission class 5.
With the CO₂ emission class calculator you can determine the CO₂ emission class with just a few clicks.
The vehicles are categorised into various vehicle groups and vehicle subgroups. Until now, only vehicle groups 4, 5, 9 and 10 with their vehicle subgroups were defined. Vehicle group 4, for example, consists of three vehicle subgroups: 4UD (urban delivery), 4RD (regional delivery) and 4LH (long haul). Each vehicle subgroup has a specific operational profile, which differs according to axle and chassis configuration, engine power and cab type.
There are five CO₂ emission classes, with CO₂ emission class 1 being the worst and CO₂ emission class 5 being the best.
- CO₂ emission class 5 includes emission-free vehicles without an internal combustion engine (purely electric or hydrogen fuel cell drive) and vehicles with an internal combustion engine whose CO₂ emissions are less than 1 g CO₂/kWh or less than 1 g CO₂/km.
- Low-emission vehicles whose specific CO₂ emissions are more than 50% below the vehicle subgroup-specific CO₂ reference value fall into CO₂ emission class 4.
- CO₂ emission class 3 comprises vehicles whose specific CO₂ emissions are more than 8% below the vehicle subgroup-specific CO₂ reference value at the time of initial registration.
Vehicles in CO₂ emission class 3 are retested and, if necessary, reclassified six years after initial registration and every six years thereafter.
- For vehicles in CO₂ emission class 2, the specific CO₂ emissions at the time of initial registration are more than 5% below the vehicle subgroup-specific CO₂ reference value.Vehicles in CO₂ emission class 2 are retested and, if necessary, reclassified six years after initial registration and every six years thereafter.
- CO₂ emission class 1 includes vehicles that cannot be assigned to a higher CO₂ emission class. This may be the case, in particular, if the CO₂ emissions exceed the vehicle subgroup-specific CO₂ reference value or if no suitable verification documents are provided. Allocation to CO₂ emission class 1 also takes place if no CO₂ reference value is available.
There are currently no CO₂ reference values for buses, motorhomes and some heavy commercial vehicles. They are, therefore, provisionally assigned to CO2 class 1 – Exception: zero-emission vehicles are assigned to CO₂ emission class 5. Vehicles with a first registration date before 1 July 2019 are also automatically assigned to CO₂ emission class 1.
Vehicles assigned to CO₂ emission class 2 or 3 are re-inspected six years after initial registration and then every six years thereafter and reclassified if necessary, as the CO₂ reduction requirements are stricter at the time of re-inspection than at the time of initial registration. This means that these vehicles can be assigned to a lower CO₂ emission class during the inspection. Low-emission and emission-free vehicles are not reclassified and remain in the originally determined CO₂ emission class.
The allocation of a vehicle to one of the five CO₂ emission classes depends on the date of initial registration. Starting in July 2019, CO₂ reference values were defined, which decrease by a percentage value each year. Vehicles that were first registered before 1 July 2019 always fall into CO₂ emission class 1, as there are no CO₂ reference values for them, unless they are emission-free and are therefore entitled to CO₂ emission class 5. This CO₂ reference value is always reduced for the period 1 July to 30 June of the following year. A vehicle that was first registered on 30 June of a year can therefore fall into a different CO₂ emission class than a technically identical vehicle that was first registered on 1 July of the same year.