Digital tachograph 2026: New EU requirements for delivery vans and light trucks

Stuttgart, January 20, 2026 - From July 1, 2026, far-reaching changes to EU social regulations will come into force that will fundamentally change the light commercial vehicle (LCV) sector. AREALCONTROL GmbH, a specialist in telematics and fleet management solutions, provides information about the new digital tachograph requirements and already offers the right technological solutions for affected companies.

The end of the 3.5-ton limit Until now, the strict EU regulations on driving and rest times and the tachograph requirement primarily applied to heavy trucks over 3.5 tons. From mid-2026, this limit will be significantly lowered for cross-border freight transport and cabotage: vehicles with a gross vehicle weight (GVW) of more than 2.5 tons will be required to be equipped with a second-generation intelligent tachograph (G2V2).

"The extension of Regulation (EC) No. 561/2006 to light commercial vehicles is a massive change for courier, express, and parcel services, as well as international craft businesses," explains the management of AREALCONTROL GmbH. "In the future, vans will be treated legally like heavy trucks. This means not only hardware retrofits, but a complete overhaul of administrative processes." The most important changes at a glance: Equipment requirement: Affected vehicles between 2.5t and 3.5t GVW must have a G2V2 unit as of July 1, 2026.

Automation: The new devices automatically record border crossings and use GNSS for positioning. Control: Authorities can carry out remote checks while driving by via the DSRC interface. Data management: Driver data must now be stored for 56 days (instead of 28 as previously).

The challenge of retrofitting and data logistics Since many vans are not factory-equipped for the installation of tachographs (missing shafts or sensors), AREALCONTROL recommends early planning. In addition to the hardware, the software infrastructure will be a decisive factor. Tachograph data must not remain a "data silo," but must flow seamlessly into telematics systems to support dispatchers in complying with driving and rest times. AREALCONTROL offers integrated dashboards and automated remote download solutions for this purpose, which ensure that companies comply with legal archiving requirements without manual effort and avoid fines.

Efficiency leap: Digital expense reporting in European long-distance transport In addition to fulfilling legal obligations, the new technology also opens up opportunities for process optimization. Especially in cross-border transport, the manual recording of travel expenses often represents an administrative hurdle. AREALCONTROL transforms the collected data into direct added value: The system imports absence times directly and error-free from the driver cards. Based on this, the applicable meal allowances are calculated fully automatically. The completed statements can then be exported as PDF or CSV files with a single click and transferred to payroll accounting--a function that massively reduces administrative effort and eliminates accounting errors.

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Herr Marcus Walter
+49(0)170-7736705

walter@kfdm.eu

AREALCONTROL GmbH, based in Stuttgart, has been developing innovative telematics and IoT solutions for transport, logistics, and fleet management for over 20 years. With modular software and hardware solutions, the company supports freight forwarders, transport companies, and fleet operators in digitizing their processes.

The German-Dutch team of over 20 people consists of physicists, mathematicians, engineers, computer scientists, and economists with many years of expertise in IoT, operations research, telematics, and IT. This interdisciplinary expertise forms the basis for the development of highly innovative solutions that combine technological excellence with practical applicability.

In addition, sales, service, assembly, and hardware manufacturing are outsourced, creating synergies with specialized partners. This model ensures an optimized cost/performance profile and enables AREALCONTROL to focus fully on the development and advancement of intelligent software solutions.

For over 1,250 customers in Europe with more than 400 integrations into ERP, CRM, and TMS systems, several hundred million messages, status reports, and documents are processed daily via the AREALCONTROL private cloud platform--securely, scalably, and 100% EU GDPR-compliant.

This release was published on openPR.