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No Tachograph Requirement for Vehicles Up to 4.25 Metric Tons

Federal Council Boosts Electric Delivery Vans

The Federal Council is treating electric commercial vehicles weighing up to 4.25 metric tons the same as delivery vans with internal combustion engines. The tachograph requirement is waived for domestic transport. In addition, the speed limit is set at 120 and the truck ban no longer applies. Five ordinances will take effect on October 1, 2026.
Elektro-Lieferwagen sollen in der Schweiz bis 4,25 Tonnen gleichgestellt werden. Electric vans should be treated as 4.25-ton vehicles in Switzerland. Les camionnettes électriques devraient être assimilées à des véhicules de 4,25 tonnes en Suisse.
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THE KEY POINTS IN BRIEF
• The Federal Council is treating electric commercial vehicles up to 4.25 metric tons the same as delivery vans with internal combustion engines.
• The tachograph requirement is waived for domestic transport; furthermore, a 120 speed limit applies and there is no truck ban.
• Five ordinances will change on October 1, 2026; the new inspection intervals take effect on February 1, 2028.

The Fed­er­al Coun­cil is imple­ment­ing the removal of bar­ri­ers for elec­tric deliv­ery vans weigh­ing up to 4.25 met­ric tons, which was announced a year ago. It is sup­port­ing elec­tric deliv­ery vans and elim­i­nat­ing the tacho­graph require­ment for vehi­cles weigh­ing up to 4.25 met­ric tons, as stat­ed in a press release. It made the deci­sion at its meet­ing on August 19, 2026. As a result, elec­tric com­mer­cial vehi­cles in this weight class will legal­ly be clas­si­fied as deliv­ery vans in the future. The Fed­er­al Coun­cil aims to accel­er­ate the decar­boniza­tion of deliv­ery traf­fic in this way.

Electric delivery vans weighing up to 4.25 metric tons will be treated the same as internal combustion engine vehicles

Bat­ter­ies are heavy, as they take up pay­load capac­i­ty and con­tribute to the total weight. An elec­tric deliv­ery van there­fore quick­ly exceeds the 3.5‑metric-ton lim­it. Until now, this meant it fell under the stricter reg­u­la­tions for heavy motor vehi­cles. The Fed­er­al Coun­cil is now elim­i­nat­ing pre­cise­ly this dis­ad­van­tage. In the future, elec­tric com­mer­cial vehi­cles weigh­ing up to 4.25 met­ric tons will no longer have to meet all the require­ments applic­a­ble to vehi­cles over 3.5 met­ric tons.

Tachograph Requirement Waived for Domestic Transport

Per­haps the most sig­nif­i­cant change con­cerns the Dri­ver Reg­u­la­tion. Dri­vers of elec­tric deliv­ery vans are now exempt from work­ing, dri­ving, and rest time reg­u­la­tions for domes­tic trans­port. Con­se­quent­ly, the tacho­graph require­ment is also waived. How­ev­er, the exemp­tion applies explic­it­ly to domes­tic trans­port. Com­pa­nies engaged in cross-bor­der trips should there­fore check the applic­a­ble inter­na­tion­al reg­u­la­tions.

120 km/h Speed Limit and No More Truck Bans

Traf­fic rules are also chang­ing sig­nif­i­cant­ly. Elec­tric deliv­ery vans are now per­mit­ted to dri­ve at 120 km/h on the high­way. In addi­tion, the “No Trucks” sign no longer applies to them. This elim­i­nates two com­pet­i­tive dis­ad­van­tages com­pared to diesel deliv­ery vans. For last-mile deliv­ery in cities and met­ro­pol­i­tan areas, the removal of the dri­ving ban is par­tic­u­lar­ly sig­nif­i­cant.

Five road traffic regulations will change as of October 2026

The revi­sion encom­pass­es five reg­u­la­tions. The reg­u­la­tions affect­ed include the Dri­ver Ordi­nance (ARV 1), the Traf­fic Rules Ordi­nance (VRV), and the Traf­fic Sig­nal­ing Ordi­nance (SSV). Also includ­ed are the Ordi­nance on Tech­ni­cal Require­ments for Road Vehi­cles (VTS) and the Type Approval Ordi­nance (TGV). All changes will take effect on Octo­ber 1, 2026. The Fed­er­al Coun­cil is bas­ing these changes on the results of the pre­vi­ous pub­lic con­sul­ta­tion.

Inspection Intervals for Electric Delivery Vans Take Effect in February 2028

The fre­quen­cy of inspec­tions will also decrease. In the future, elec­tric deliv­ery vans will be sub­ject to the same inspec­tion inter­vals as con­ven­tion­al com­mer­cial vehi­cles weigh­ing up to 3.5 met­ric tons. How­ev­er, the can­tons are not required to apply the new inter­vals until Feb­ru­ary 1, 2028. Until then, enforce­ment author­i­ties will have time to adapt their pro­ce­dures.

What the equal treatment means for transportation companies

For fleet oper­a­tors, the admin­is­tra­tive bur­den will be sig­nif­i­cant­ly reduced. With­out a tacho­graph, the need for data analy­sis, archiv­ing, and some of the inspec­tion risks will be elim­i­nat­ed. At the same time, route plan­ning will improve because dri­ving and rest peri­ods no longer apply to domes­tic trans­port. How­ev­er, the changes only affect vehi­cle and traf­fic law. Ques­tions regard­ing driver’s license cat­e­gories are gov­erned by the Vehi­cle Reg­is­tra­tion Ordi­nance, which is not part of this pack­age. Com­pa­nies should there­fore clar­i­fy this point before mak­ing a pur­chase.

What did the Fed­er­al Coun­cil decide on August 19, 2026, regard­ing elec­tric deliv­ery vans?

It treats elec­tric com­mer­cial vehi­cles up to 4.25 met­ric tons the same as deliv­ery vans with inter­nal com­bus­tion engines.

The amend­ments to the five ordi­nances take effect on Octo­ber 1, 2026.

The fol­low­ing are affect­ed: ARV 1, VRV, SSV, VTS, and the Type Approval Ordi­nance (TGV).

No. The excep­tion applies to domes­tic trans­port because the reg­u­la­tions on work­ing hours, dri­ving time, and rest peri­ods do not apply there.

On the high­way, the new speed lim­it will be 120 km/h, the same as for deliv­ery vans with inter­nal com­bus­tion engines.

In prin­ci­ple, yes. How­ev­er, this ban no longer applies to elec­tric deliv­ery vans weigh­ing up to 4.25 met­ric tons.

Bat­ter­ies increase the curb weight. The high­er lim­it com­pen­sates for this tech­ni­cal dis­ad­van­tage.

The can­tons will begin apply­ing them on Feb­ru­ary 1, 2028.

It aims to strength­en the com­pet­i­tive­ness of e‑mobility and decar­bonize deliv­ery traf­fic more quick­ly.

this page has been automatically translated.

Picture of Michael Gehrken

Michael Gehrken

Michael Gehrken has been firmly established in the Swiss mobility landscape for many years – as a communicator, association director, and strategic thinker. After starting out as a journalist, he moved to the federal administration, where he initially worked as head of communications at the Federal Roads Office (FEDRO) and later as co-responsible for NEAT communications at the Federal Office of Transport (FOT). From 2006 to 2014, he was director of the Swiss Commercial Vehicle Association ASTAG, where he had a significant influence on industry communications. Today, as president of L-drive Switzerland, the umbrella organization for Swiss driving instructors, he is at the forefront of an important voice in the field of road safety and training. With the mobility-360.ch platform, Michael Gehrken is committed to independent, fact-based, and forward-looking reporting on all aspects of mobility—from new technologies to social developments. His writing combines experience in politics, business, and practice with a clear vision of the mobility of tomorrow.
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