From July, the delivery van’s dashboard enters a new era. Europe has issued a regulatory requirement that forces millions of light commercial vehicles to comply with the same standard as trucks: a tachograph. The new law, coming soon, is likely to cause a bottleneck at aftermarket equipment firms.

Picture a plumber from Ghent. He crosses into the Netherlands twice a week to service an industrial customer in Sea Land: tools loaded, he runs a tight schedule. He has never used a tachograph in his life. He does not consider himself a transport operator. He is a plumber. But as of 1 July 2026, European law disagrees with that point of view.

Second-generation tachograph

The rules have been taking shape quietly. In 2020, EU member states agreed to a major reform of EU road transport law, better known as the Mobility Package. It applies to heavy trucks, but they are joined by light commercial vehicles which exceed 2.5 tonnes and are used in cross-border commercial transport.

These are now obliged to carry a second-generation smart tachograph, which is basically the same satellite-linked, remotely readable device that heavy trucks have been required to install since 2023. It is a regulation that, on paper, targets international freight. But in practice, it will reach into the everyday working lives of hundreds of thousands of local van operators. Especially in Belgium, where one firm press on the accelerator can already push you across the border.

The number of affected vans could run high. According to the European Labor Authority, which coordinates enforcement across EU member states, it is estimated that between 1.5 and 3 million vans in the region require equipment updates before the deadline. No precise count exists because, until now, no one has been required to count them.

Following a new trend

For decades, the regulatory framing around driving time and rest was built around trucks. Vehicles above 3.5 tonnes – the legal definition of a heavy goods vehicle under EU law – were required to carry tachographs, to record it all. Drivers carry smart cards. Companies download the data at prescribed intervals.

Below that threshold, the assumption was broadly that vans were different. They were used for shorter trips and small-scale operations. They represented a different risk profile. But by 2020, it had become clear that the growth of last-mile delivery, cross-border parcel services, and those self-employed tradespeople operating across EU borders, as mentioned above, had created a category that existed outside the assumed framework. To be clear: domestic operations and vans under 2.5 tonnes remain exempt.

Galileo satellites

The technology at the center of all this is worth understanding, too. Because it goes beyond what most people picture when they hear the word tachograph. The second-generation is called the  G2V2. It is a surveillance node.

The G2V2 derives position data from the European Galileo satellite system and uses the OSNMA cryptographic verification protocol. This makes it effectively impossible to mess with location records. Through the satellite connection, it automatically registers every border crossing. The driver does not need to log it. The device also transmits data to roadside readers. These can verify a passing vehicle without stopping it. 

The fines for non-compliance are serious: up to €30,000 for serious or repeat violations, with the additional possibility of a review that can threaten an operator’s license to carry goods across EU borders. In some countries, like Spain and Italy, vehicle immobilization is enforced.

The costs of getting ready are not trivial either. Unlike the heavy goods sector, the retrofit market for vans hasn’t yet matured, as vans are structurally more expensive. Dashboard architecture varies significantly by model, wiring is more complex, and only EU-certified workshops can legally carry out installations and calibrations. All-in costs are running at €3,500 to €4,700 per vehicle.

Workshop capacity is already tightening. Operators who moved early secured competitive rates, but telematics specialist Geotab noted that those approaching the June deadline face a labor premium of 40 to 60% as certified fitters become overbooked.