- Until last February, only 15% of the budget of more than 110 million euros that the Ministry of Transport approved at the end of 2022 to help hauliers to digitise had been requested, among others, the replacement of the tachograph, which is compulsory for hauliers carrying out international transport.
- Fenadismer reminds hauliers that the deadline for applying for this ‘modernisation aid’, which is managed by the Autonomous Communities, expires on 30 June and to date only 10% of lorries have already replaced their tachographs.
As FENADISMER has been reporting, since the middle of last year all the Autonomous Communities have had open the line of aid aimed at the modernisation and digitalisation of transport companies, both for goods and passengers, which is articulated through the so-called ‘Cheque Moderniza’, in execution of Royal Decree 902/2022 approved by the central government at the end of 2022, with a total estimated budget of 110 million euros, and promoted under the European Next Generation Funds.
However, despite the significant budget earmarked for this aid, which can be used for various digital solutions, including the implementation of the electronic control document, the updating of company management systems, the implementation of ERP systems and the installation of the new second generation intelligent tachograph, according to information provided by the Ministry of Transport, as of 29 February, only 15% of the total budget had been requested on average in the whole of Spain. In fact, by regions, the low percentage of funds used in Autonomous Communities with a strong presence of international transport fleets is particularly worrying, as is the case in Madrid with only 4.08%, Andalusia with 4.79%, the Valencian Community with 5.07%, Murcia with 5.22% and Catalonia with 10.45%. On the opposite side are Asturias with more than 100% of the budget already requested and Galicia with 75.69%.
Therefore, FENADISMER insists on encouraging all self-employed and transport companies that have not yet done so, to apply for aid as soon as possible, especially those who are obliged to replace the tachographs of their vehicles for international transport, taking into account that the deadline to apply for them ends on 30 June.
All the information on the grants can be found at this link:
https://www.transportes.gob.es/ministerio/proyectos-singulares/prtr/transporte/programa-de-modernizacion-de-empresas-privadas-pymes-de-transporte-de-viajeros-y-mercancias-por-carretera
Specifically, all vehicles that have an analogue or non-intelligent digital tachograph installed, i.e. all those prior to June 2019, will be obliged to install a second-generation intelligent tachograph before the end of December 2024, extending this deadline by a further 8 months for vehicles that have a first-generation intelligent tachograph installed.
However, and despite the fact that there are less than 8 months left until the deadline, according to FENADISMER estimates, to date only around 10% of the vehicles affected have carried out the process of replacing their tachographs, despite the fact that the fleet affected is around 130,000 trucks and 10,000 buses, hence the advisability for hauliers to start this process as soon as possible to avoid their vehicles being paralysed from January onwards due to not having been able to carry out the ‘retrofit’ on their vehicles in advance.
