According to newsauto.gr information, the government does not plan a horizontal revision of the traffic charges system for next year. The issue is not at the table of direct decisions. — And that's not random. Inflation, increased energy costs and more general pressure on households create a political and economic environment in which any increase would be treated as socially unfair and electorally dangerous.
The current system for calculating traffic charges has remained in force since 2015, with minor technical adjustments. Its basic logic divides the fleet into two major categories, depending on the date of first classification.
For cars first released by 31 October 2010, the calculation criterion is engine Cubism. For those classified between 1 November 2010 and 31 December 2020, the NEDC standard is used in grams of CO2 per kilometre, with cars emitting less than 90 g/km being fully exempted. For those classified from 1 January 2021 onwards, the stricter WLTP standard applies, with the purely electric and those up to 122 g/km not paying fees.
How much does everyone pay?
For older vehicles, i.e. those registered before 2010 and still represent a significant part of the Greek fleet, the amounts are as follows: a car up to 1,357 cm starts from 135 euros, at 1,400-1,600 cm goes up to 240-265 euros, while at 2,000 cm it exceeds 600 euros. For large engines over 3,000 cm, the amount can exceed all 1,000 euros per year.
For newer cars — calculated on the basis of CO2 — The image is completely different. Many hybrid and economic gasoline-powered models pay from 0 to 100 euros, family ranges between 100 and 250 euros, while large SUVs or powerful high-emission models can exceed 400 euros. It is worth noting that the amounts remain the same as last year — the same scales and coefficients are used.
A billion euros you can't touch
Traffic charges are one of the most stable and predictable tax sources of the Greek State. Annual revenue exceeds 1.2 billion euros.
This figure explains the government's main dilemma: if it imposes tougher charges on old and polluting cars, it risks causing massive billing and increasing immobility, thereby reducing the revenue it seeks to increase itself. If, on the contrary, it leaves things as they are, the aging of the fleet continues without unincentive.
Economic analysts estimate that even an average 10% increase in old vehicle traffic charges could bring an additional 100 to 150m euros per year. A more aggressive approach, aimed at Euro 3 and Euro 4 cars, could theoretically yield over EUR 200 million — But at political cost that no government seems willing to pay.
The aging fleet hiding the real problem
Behind all this debate about fees there is a much deeper structural weakness: the Greek car fleet is the aged of Europe, and every year it becomes even older.
According to ACEA's official figures, in 2024 the average age of motor vehicles in Greece increased to 17.8 years, from 17.3 in 2023, making the Greek fleet the oldest in the European Union — Far from the European average of 12.7 years.
Additional, almost 8 out of 10 cars in the country belong to the category «over 10 years», that is 4,534,837 vehicles carry over a decade on their backs. And the problem is not stabilizing. — It gets worse every year.
In 2024, 86.1% of passenger cars in Greece were gasoline-powered, while only 0.2% were pure electric — against 2.3% on the European average. This deviation is indicative of how far back Greece is in the transition towards cleaner forms of mobility.
What is considered in the long term
The EU is pushing for tough measures in old polluting vehicles, IX, business and trucks. The Greek Government has been resisting strongly for five years. What will be required of any government that arises in the upcoming elections includes lower or zero fees for electric and plug-in hybrids, increased charges for old diesel and gasoline-powered low Euro specifications, and possibly a new model linking traffic charges to a triple criterion: emissions of pollutants, vehicle age and Euro standard.
A working party has even been set up to answer the question whether we are going to a simple reform of the current stages or to a radical lift, taking into account the increasing number of electrics, the commitments of the European Green Agreement and the fact that Greece has the oldest car fleet in the EU.
The only thing almost certain is that any change should be fiscally neutral — That is not to increase the overall tax burden on drivers, but simply to redistribute it: less for environmentally friendly, more for pollutants.
2027 brings no surprises
Our information about 2027 states that no change in traffic charges is expected. The government does not want to open up such a sensitive political front under the current economic conditions, and the working group examining the new system is still in a study phase.
What is almost certain is that change will come. Europe is pushing, the fleet is getting old, and the current system dating back to 2015 cannot forever ignore the reality of an automobile landscape that changes rapidly. The combination of European obligations for zero emissions up to 2035 and a national fleet with an average age of nearly 18 creates a contrast that cannot remain over-represented indefinitely.
NEWS TODAY
And yet the most economical movement is not electricity
At 299 a month it has a brand new premium SUV
Share it
