According to Massimo Artusi, Federauto vice-president responsible for trucks and vans, the deadline of 21 August is “objectively incompatible” with the time needed to approve, issue and install the equipment, due to problems with software availability and homologation procedures.
Artusi emphasised that dealers across Europe, together with manufacturers, are facing difficulties beyond their control that are preventing them from delivering compliant commercial vehicles to operators and customers by the deadline. The issues surrounding the intelligent tachograph are another bureaucratic obstacle that further hampers the renewal process of the EU fleet. All stakeholders in the supply chain have made significant investments to improve the technology, enhance the environmental sustainability of logistics and improve road safety.
Stressing the urgency of the situation, Artusi called on the European Commission to grant an extension of a few months to address the problem. Despite the deadlines set out in the recently adopted implementing regulation (EU 2023/980), the problem remains unresolved. Federauto believes that it is essential to obtain a timely response from national counterparts and to clarify the formal procedures for requesting an extension from the relevant Community authorities.
EU satellites are not ready for new tachograph requirements either
As we have earlier reported, the EU itself is struggling with the introduction of the new tachograph regulations.
The new version of tachographs, the so-called Smart Tachograph 2 (SMT2), should be installed in all new HGVs from August 2023, in line with the Mobility Package regulations. One of the important features the new devices will provide is the automatic recording of vehicles’ border crossings.
To do so, the SMT2 devices must be ready to authenticate the signal from the Galileo Open Service Navigation Message Authentication (OSNMA) satellite service – as soon as the new Galileo system is operational.
Herein lies the problem – as the EC has informed Trans.INFO back in January, the service will not be available before December 2023.
The European Commission will therefore propose an amendment to the implementing regulation, which will ensure that all MST2 devices function in the same way before and after the Galileo service is available.
Though, “the transitional measure will enable the timely deployment of smart tachograph 2 within the set deadline of 21 August 2023,” the EC added.