Light goods vehicles in the road transport market of the European Union : final report. On behalf of the European Commission, Directorate-General Mobility and Transport (DG MOVE).

This Final Report presents the main results of the EC-project which aimed at gaining insight in the extent to which Light Goods Vehicles (LGVs) are used in long(er) distance commercial freight transport in order to avoid the regulation that applies for light heavy goods vehicles (L-HGVs) and heavy goods vehicles (HGVs). The members of the consortium are TML, NEA and ISIS. International commercial road freight transport within the European Union is strictly governed by certain legislation. This legislation addresses, amongst others, the social rules in Regulation (EC) No: 561/2006 and Regulation (EEC) No: 3821/85, the road charging Directive 1999/62/EC and admission to the profession of a commercial road haulage operator. However, these rules apply only to freight vehicles with a maximum permissible weight (own weight plus loading capacity= Gross Vehicle Weight or GVW) of 3.5 tonnes or more. This means that for the operation of light goods vehicles, which are characterised by a GVW of less than 3,5 tonnes, these rules do not apply. In turn, this may effect the cost per transported unit or per kilometre and thus affect (fair) competition in international commercial freight transport. Furthermore, LGVs appear to perform poorly with respect to road safety and the fuel consumption per transported unit is less efficient, compared to that of HGVs. The main objective of this study was to provide the Commission services with economic insight into the importance of LGVs in long(er) distance commercial road freight transport. Special attention has been paid to border crossing transport or transport operations in other Member States (cabotage). On the basis of this inventory an evaluation was made of the extent of competition between the LGVs and the HGVs. The legal situation of LGVs in the various Member States was addressed as an additional objective. An inventory per Member State of additional relevant legislation for these types of vehicles, where applicable, was also made. The main result of the study is a clear answer to the question whether there is a need for a harmonised EU-approach concerning the legislation of LGVs. If this is the case, a proposal to redefine the scope of relevant legal acts of the EU road transport acquis should be made. (Author/publisher)