COMMISSION STAFF WORKING DOCUMENT Ex-post evaluation of Directive 2006/1/EC on the use of vehicles hired without drivers for the carriage of goods by road Final report
Date: 2017-05-31
Institutions: Directorate-General for Mobility and Transport, European Commission
Subjects: EU Member State, carriage of goods, intra-EU transport, road transport, vehicle rental

EN 

   EN 

   EUROPEAN COMMISSION  Brussels, 31.5.2017  SWD(2017) 198 final   COMMISSION STAFF WORKING DOCUMENT Ex-post evaluation of Directive 2006/1/EC  on the use of vehicles hired without drivers  for the carriage of goods by road   Final report {COM(2017) 282 final} {SWD(2017) 196 final} {SWD(2017) 197 final} {SWD(2017) 199 final}  
 
 
Contents 

1 

INTRODUCTION ....................................................................................................... 1 

1.1  Purpose of the evaluation .................................................................................. 1 
1.2  Scope of the evaluation ..................................................................................... 2 

2  BACKGROUND TO THE DIRECTIVE ................................................................... 2 

2.1  Description of the initiative ............................................................................... 2 
2.2  Baseline ............................................................................................................. 3 
2.3  Objectives .......................................................................................................... 3 

3  METHODOLOGY ...................................................................................................... 4 

3.1  Division of tasks and instruments used ............................................................. 4 
3.2  Quantitative and qualitative data collection ...................................................... 4 
3.3  Limitations - Robustness of findings ................................................................ 5 

4  MARKET CONTEXT AND DEVELOPMENT AND STATE OF PLAY ............... 6 

4.1  Application and implementation of the Directive ............................................. 6 
4.2  Market situation ................................................................................................. 7 

4.2.1  Market  penetration  and  characteristics  of  hired  and  leased  goods 

vehicles ................................................................................................ 7 
The vehicle leasing sector ................................................................... 8 
The road haulage sector ....................................................................... 9 

4.2.2 
4.2.3 

5  ANSWERS TO THE EVALUATION QUESTIONS .............................................. 11 

5.1  Effectiveness ................................................................................................... 11 
5.2  Efficiency ........................................................................................................ 13 
5.3  Relevance ........................................................................................................ 15 
5.4  Coherence ........................................................................................................ 16 
5.5  EU added value ............................................................................................... 18 

6  CONCLUSIONS ....................................................................................................... 18 

 
 
 
 
 
1 

INTRODUCTION 

1.1  Purpose of the evaluation 

Directive  2006/1/EC  of  the  European  Parliament  and  of  the  Council  on  the  use  of  vehicles 
hired  without  drivers  for  the  carriage  of  goods  by  road1  (henceforth  "the  Directive")  is  a 
codification  of  Council  Directive  84/647/EEC2  as  amended  by  Council  Directive 
90/398/EEC3. More than 25 years after its provisions have last been changed, the Directive is 
being evaluated to see whether it has been successful in achieving its objectives and whether 
further modifications would be necessary. 

In the context of the Directive, the term "hired " is to be understood in the broad sense of the 
word,  which  also  includes  "leasing".4  Goods  vehicles  are  typically  hired  or  rented  for  a 
determined  period  of  time  to  meet  temporary  or  seasonal  demand  peaks  or  to  replace 
defective vehicles. The leasing of goods vehicles allows operators to better manage their cash 
flows  as  they  do  not  have  to  pay  the  full  purchase  price  upfront  when  acquiring  a  vehicle. 
Hiring  and  leasing  of  goods  vehicles  thus  provides  more  flexibility  to  operators  and  allows 
them to lower their costs and increase their productivity. 

The Directive aims at permitting the use of hired goods vehicles. It provides a minimum level 
of liberalisation regarding the use of hired goods vehicles for both national and international 
transport  operations.  Member  States  have  to  ensure that  their  undertakings  may  use,  for  the 
carriage  of  goods  by  road,  hired  vehicles  under  the  same  conditions  as  vehicles  owned  by 
them as long as the hired vehicles are registered or put into circulation in compliance with the 
laws in their countries. 

There are however two important exceptions: (1) Member States may forbid the use of hired 
goods  vehicles  with  a  maximum  mass  above  6  tonnes  for  own  account  transport operations 
and (2) Member States may forbid the use of hired goods vehicles carrying out international 
intra-EU transport operations on their territory if certain conditions (listed in Article 2 of the 
Directive) are not met. One of these conditions is that the vehicle has to be registered or put 
into circulation in compliance with the law of the Member State where the undertaking hiring 
it is established. In other words, whenever a vehicle has been hired in a Member State other 
than  the  one  where  the  undertaking  hiring  it  is  established,  then  Member  States  are  not 
obliged to allow its use on their territory for the purpose of traffic between Member States. 

In this context, the evaluation more specifically aims at  

  providing an overview of the market for hired and leased goods vehicles in the EU; 
  assessing the extent to which the objectives of the Directive have been achieved and 

whether there are any unintended positive or negative effects of the Directive; 

  assessing whether the provisions of the Directive still reflect today's transport policy 

priorities and meet the needs of the European economy; 

  examining the extent to which restrictions on the use of hired vehicles have an impact 

on transport operators and other companies involved in the business. 

This  ex-post  evaluation  is  carried  out  back-to-back  with  an  impact  assessment  of  various 
options to amend the Directive. Its results provide a starting point for the problem definition 
of this impact assessment. 

1   OJ L 33, 4.2.2006, p. 82. 

2   OJ L 335, 22.12.1984, p. 72. 

3   OJ L 202, 31.7.1990, p. 46. 

4   See COM(83) 266 final of 18.5.1983, p. 4, available at http://aei.pitt.edu/32381/1/COM_(83)_266_final.pdf  

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1.2  Scope of the evaluation 

The evaluation covers - to the extent possible - the period since 1990 when the Directive was 
last amended, with a greater focus on the period since 2006 when the Directive was codified. 
It  distinguishes  between  the  two  main  segments  of  the  market  for  the  carriage  of  goods  by 
road, 'own account transport' (i.e. a company that carries its own goods with the vehicles at its 
disposal) and 'transport for hire and reward' (i.e. a professional road transport operator carries 
someone else's goods for remuneration). It covers the whole market for hired vehicles, from 
short-term rental to long-term financial leasing. 

2  BACKGROUND TO THE DIRECTIVE 

2.1  Description of the initiative 

As Directive 2006/1/EC is merely a codification of an earlier Directive it is worth going back 
to the origin of the earlier Directive. The rules governing the use of hired goods vehicles in 
the  EU  date  back  to  1984  when  the  Council  adopted  Directive  84/647/EEC  ('the  1984 
Directive').  The  purpose  of  the  1984  Directive  was  to  provide  a  minimum  level  of 
liberalisation  of  the  use  of  hired  goods  vehicles  in  the  internal  road  haulage  market.  As  a 
general rule, Member States were to take the necessary measures to ensure that undertakings 
established  on  their  territory  may  use,  for  the  carriage  of  goods  by  road,  hired  vehicles 
registered or put into circulation in compliance with the laws of the respective countries under 
the same conditions as vehicles owned by them.  

This general rule was subject to some specific conditions which had to be met should the use 
of hired goods vehicles be allowed in international transport operations. Member States could 
no  longer  forbid  the  use  within  their  territory,  for  the  purpose  of  traffic  between  Member 
States, of vehicles hired by undertakings established on the territory of another Member State 
provided the following four conditions were met: 

1)  the  vehicle  is  registered  or  put  into  circulation  in  compliance  with  the  laws  of  the 

Member State where the undertaking hiring it is established; 

2)  the  contract  relates  solely  to  the  hiring  of  a  vehicle  without  a  driver  and  is  not 
accompanied  by  a  service  contract  concluded  with  the  same  undertaking  covering 
driving or accompanying personnel; 

3)  the hired vehicle is at the sole disposal of the undertaking using it during the period of 

the hire contract; 

4)  the hired vehicle is driven by personnel of the undertaking using it. 

Proof of compliance with these four conditions was to be provided by means of a number of 
documents which had to be on board the vehicle. 

The  1984  Directive  allowed  Member  States  to  exempt  all  own-account  operations  from  the 
Directive and it did not touch the regulations of Member States laying down a minimum hire 
period for the use of hired vehicles by undertakings established on their territory. It contained 
a  review  clause  (Article  8)  which  obliged  the  Council  to  re-examine  the  need  for  both 
exemptions by mid-1989. 

In  September  1989,  the  Commission  adopted  a  report  on  the  use  of  vehicles  hired  without 
drivers for the carriage of goods by road which was accompanied by a proposal for a Council 
Directive  amending  Directive  84/647/EEC.5  The  report  found  that  the  abolition  of  the  two 

5   COM(89) 430 final. 

2 

 
 
 
 
                                                 
restrictive  clauses  on  the  use  of  hired  commercial  vehicles  (i.e.  the  removal  of  both 
exemptions mentioned above) would have advantages for hire and reward operators and for 
companies  operating  vehicles  on  their  own  account.  Offering  the  Member  States  the 
possibility to exclude own-account carriage from the scope of the Directive and to lay down a 
minimum  hire  period  had  resulted  in  unequal  application  of  the  Directive  in  the  then 
European Community. Their abolition would allow better financial management and cut the 
costs  of  hauliers  operating  on  their  own  account  or  for  hire  and  reward.  The  legislative 
proposal  accompanying  the  report  hence  suggested  deleting  the  provisions  allowing  these 
exemptions. 

While removing the possibility to impose a minimum hire period found widespread support in 
the Council, removing the exemption of own account transport operations from the scope of 
the Directive did less so (some Member States wanted to keep the restrictions to stimulate the 
road  haulage  market  for  hire  and  reward).  In  the  end,  in  what  was  to  become  Council 
Directive 90/398/EEC ('the 1990 amendment')6, the Council agreed to remove the possibility 
to impose a minimum hire period, but it still allowed the use of hired goods vehicles with a 
maximum mass above 6 tonnes to be exempted from the Directive, i.e. Member States could 
still forbid it, if they wished to do so. 

The  legal  framework  governing  the  use  of  hired  goods  vehicles  established  following  the 
amendment  of  Council  Directive  84/647/EEC  by  Council  Directive  90/398/EEC  is  still  in 
place today. Directive 2006/1/EC is a codification of the situation that in effect exists  since 
1990. 

2.2  Baseline 

As  only  sporadic  information  is  available  on  the  size  and  characteristics  of  the  market  for 
hired goods vehicles in some of the 12 Member States of the then European Community in 
1989 and no information on the situation in the other 16 Member States of the EU today, the 
development of the baseline is only possible in a qualitative way.  

The  Commission's  1989  report  mentioned  above  provides  some  information  on  the  legal 
situation in the 12 Member States at the time. Five Member States still imposed a minimum 
hire period and six Member States restricted the use of hired goods vehicles for own account 
operations.  While  some  Member  States  were  in  favour  of  changing  the  rules  others  were 
against  it.  The  uneven  application  of  the  1984  Directive  in  the  Member  States  was  a  clear 
issue at the time that needed to be addressed. Changes to the legal framework going beyond 
the 1990 amendment have been attempted in 19957 but failed to win the necessary support in 
the  Council.  There  is  no  indication  that  the  national  rules  related  to  the  use  of  hired  goods 
vehicles would be more harmonised today than they were in 1989. 

2.3  Objectives 

As outlined in the intervention logic given in Annex I, the Directive aims at promoting the use 
of hired goods vehicles as this allows a better allocation of resources by limiting the wasteful 
use  of  factors  of  production.  It  also  brings  an  element  of  flexibility  to  the  organisation  of 
transport and thus increases the productivity of  the undertakings concerned. An undertaking 
should be allowed to use a hired goods vehicle in particular if it has only a temporary need for 
it  (e.g.  temporary  demand  peaks  or  surges,  seasonal  or  unexpected  demand,  short-lived 
demand  for  special  types  of  vehicles,  temporary  replacement  of  broken-down  vehicles).  It 

6   OJ L 202, 31.7.90, p. 46. 

7   See COM(95) 2 final of 13.2.1995. 

3 

 
 
 
 
                                                 
would  then  not  have  to  buy  a  vehicle  which  would  subsequently  be  underused.  The  capital 
thus saved could be put to a more productive use. The Directive was to set a legal framework 
for the use of hired goods  vehicles also in international transport  operations,  thus providing 
some  legal  clarity  for  the  use  of  hired  goods  vehicles  for  intra-Community  trade.  The  1990 
amendment  of  the  Directive  recognised  the  need  to  provide  a  more  harmonised  legal 
framework across Member States by removing some of the possibilities for Member States to 
restrict the use of hired goods vehicles. 

3  METHODOLOGY  

3.1  Division of tasks and instruments used 

The  evaluation  has  been  carried  out  with  the  support  of  an  external  contractor  for  data 
collection  and  analysis  of  the  effects  of  the  Directive.  The  aim  of  the  support  study  was  to 
provide an independent evidence-based assessment of the implementation and enforcement of 
the  Directive  across  all  28  EU  Member  States.  The  study  to  support  the  ex-post  evaluation 
was  executed  between  September  2015  and  March  2016.8  This  staff  working  document  is 
largely based on the findings of this study. 

The  consultant  has  carried  out  an  extensive  desk  research  including  a  review  of  documents 
and  reports  related  to  the  Directive  and  the  market  for  hired  goods  vehicles.  Additional 
information was gathered through a survey of the competent authorities in the Member States 
and through stakeholder interviews. A combination of desk research and targeted stakeholder 
interviews  was  carried  out  in  five  Member  States  (Greece,  Bulgaria,  Italy,  Denmark  and 
Poland) to gain some more in-depth insight in the situation in those countries. The input from 
this  in-depth  research  was  used  to  complement  and  cross-check  the  input  received  from 
stakeholders at EU level. 

3.2  Quantitative and qualitative data collection 

To map the implementation and enforcement of the Directive across all 28 Member States of 
the EU, a prefilled country fiche was sent to the competent authorities of the Member States 
for verification and completion. 24 out of 28 fiches have been returned.9 

Leaseurope, the European Federation of Leasing Company Associations10, provided relevant 
information  on  the  size  of  the  market  for  hired  commercial  vehicles  in  the  EU.  It  has  46 
member  associations  in  33  countries11  and  represents  more  than  80%  of  the  total  European 
market  in  the  vehicle  leasing  segment.  However,  Leaseurope  could  only  provide  data  from 
2011 onwards. Earlier data of any use for the analysis were not available. 

Relevant data on the vehicle stock and the owners of hired goods vehicles by sector were also 
gathered  from  national  authorities  such  as  the  German  Federal  Motor  Transport  Agency 
(Kraftfahrtbundesamt, KBA) and from Eurostat.  

Finally,  a  series  of  stakeholder  interviews  were  to  provide  additional  information  on  the 
experience  of  the  stakeholders  with  the  Directive.  A  total  of  29  interviews  were  completed 
while 73 contacts had been made (see Table 1). 

8   https://ec.europa.eu/transport/sites/transport/files/facts-fundings/evaluations/doc/2016-ex-post-evaluation-of-directive-

2006-1-ec-final-report.pdf 

9   The authorities from Denmark, Ireland, the Netherlands and Portugal have not returned their respective fiches.  

10  www.leaseurope.org 

11  of which 25 EU Member States (all but Croatia, Cyprus and Romania) 

4 

 
 
 
 
                                                 
29% 

50% 

100% 

37% 

25% 

100% 

33% 

57% 

0% 

40% 

Contacted  Completed  Completion Rate 

Table 1 - Summary of stakeholder interviews  
Type of stakeholder 

Vehicle leasing industry operators and associations 

Road haulage operators and associations 

Undertakings carrying out own account operations 

Associations of customers of road transport operators 

Vehicle manufacturers 

Driver and other road transport workers associations 

Member States' road transport authorities 

National competent authorities 

Other stakeholders (NGOs) 

24 

16 

2 

8 

4 

1 

9 

7 

2 

7 

8 

2 

3 

1 

1 

3 

4 

0 

Total 
Source: Ricardo (2016): Ex-post evaluation of Directive 2006/1/EC - Final report. 

73 

29 

An open public consultation on both the ex-post evaluation and the impact assessment for a 
revision of the Directive was carried  out  between August  and  November 2016.12 Related to 
the ex-post evaluation, the public consultation was to offer some feedback on the experience 
with hired goods vehicles in general and with the Directive in particular. Finally, as almost all 
companies affected by the Directive have no more than 50 employees, a specific consultation 
of  SMEs  was  carried  out  via  the  Enterprise  Europe  Network  between  September  and 
November 2016. Here the focus was on gathering the views of SMEs regarding the benefits of 
using hired goods vehicles and their views on the restrictions which the Directive allows. 

3.3  Limitations - Robustness of findings 

The  use  of  hired  goods  vehicles  is  a  very  specific  field  on  which  there  is  not  very  much 
information, let alone quantitative data relevant to estimate the magnitude of the impacts of 
the Directive. Attempts to mitigate these shortcomings were made through the examination of 
relevant  studies  and  reports  suggested  by  stakeholders  and  through  carrying  out  an  online 
search in several languages. While this allowed reducing the data gaps to some extent, it did 
not allow filling them completely. It is therefore not possible to provide an assessment of the 
size of the impact which the Directive has had on the market for hired goods vehicles in the 
EU.  

There  is  a  low  level  of  awareness  of  the  specificities  of  the  Directive  (at  times  even  of  the 
existence  of  the  Directive)  among  some  stakeholders.  Despite  time  extensions  and  multiple 
follow-ups, four competent authorities did not complete the country fiche. Therefore, it was 
not possible to get a complete picture on national implementation and enforcement. However, 
the information gathered from the other Member States gives a very good picture of the costs 
of implementing and enforcing the Directive. The situation is likely not much different in the 
four Member States for which no feedback has been received. 

It  was  not  always  possible  to  cross-check  the  figures  provided  by  the  leasing  industry 
representatives on the costs and benefits of the use of hired vehicles, because it proved to be 
particularly difficult to get the views of and relevant feedback from their customers using the 
hired  goods  vehicles.  However,  the  qualitative  information  provided  by  some  transport 
operators  suggests  that  the  claims  made  by  the  leasing  industry  were  reasonable.  While  the 
data  provided  by  the  leasing  industry  should  be  considered  with  some  caution,  it  tends  to 
indicate the underlying trends. 

12  See here: http://ec.europa.eu/transport/modes/road/consultations/2016-review-hired-vehicles-carriage-goods_en 

5 

 
 
 
 
                                                 
4  MARKET CONTEXT AND DEVELOPMENT AND STATE OF PLAY 

4.1  Application and implementation of the Directive 

The Directive is fully implemented and all 28 Member States comply with the minimum level 
of liberalisation.13 The majority of Member States apply a less restrictive regime than required 
by the provisions of the Directive. Although they could restrict the use of hired goods vehicles 
(e.g.  for  own  account  operations),  they  do  not  make  use  of  the  possibilities  for  doing  so 
offered by the Directive. 

The optional restriction on the use of hired goods vehicles with a total mass above 6 tonnes 
for  own  account  operations  (Article  3(2)  of  the  Directive)  is  currently  only  applied  by  4 
Member States (Greece, Spain, Italy and Portugal).  

Table 2 - Summary of restrictions in relation to Article 3(2) of the Directive 
Restrictions 

List of Member States 

Nature of restrictions 

Number of 
Member 
States 

No restrictions 

22 

BE,  BG,  CZ,  DE,  EE,  IE,  FR, 
HR, LV, LT, LU, HU, MT, NL, 
AT, PL, RO, SI, SK, FI, SE, UK 

N/A 

Segment of hired 
vehicles market 
closed (related to 
Article 3(2)) 

4 

EL, ES, IT, PT 

ES, PT, IT: Hiring of vehicles over 6 
tonnes for own account operations not 
allowed 
EL:  Hiring  of  vehicles  over  3.5 
tonnes  for  own  account  operations 
only allowed from other undertakings 
in similar economic sector 

Source: Ricardo (2016): Ex-post evaluation of Directive 2006/1/EC - Final report. 

Member  States  have  to  allow  the  use  of  hired  goods  vehicles  for  the  purpose  of  intra-EU 
international  transport  operations  if  the  vehicle  has  been  hired  in  the  country  where  the 
undertaking hiring it is established (Article 2(1) of the Directive).  

In case the vehicle has been hired in another country, Member States are allowed to forbid its 
use  on  their  territory.  The  majority  of  Member  States  (18  out  of  28)  allow  the  use  on  their 
territory of a vehicle which an undertaking established in another Member State has hired in a 
third Member State. For the other 10 Member States, no information on this aspect of the use 
of goods vehicles hired in another Member State has been received.14 

Only  vehicles  equipped  with  a  certified  copy  of  the  Community  licence  can  be  used  for 
international road haulage operations in the EU. 15 In a number of Member States, the certified 
copy  of  the Community  licence  is  only  issued  for  vehicles registered  in  that  Member  State, 
not for a vehicle registered abroad.16 This then effectively limits the use of vehicles hired in 
another Member State for international transport operations by operators established in these 
Member States. 

13  In Greece, vehicles between 3.5 and 6 tonnes may only be hired out to other companies in a similar economic sector. This 
restriction appears to go against the Directive (which does not foresee any restriction for such vehicles) and would need to 
be investigated further. 

14  See also Table 3 below. 

15  See Article 4(6) of Regulation (EC) No 1072/2009. 

16  This appears to be the case in BG, CZ, IE, EL, ES, HR, IT, CY, LT, HU, RO, SI and FI. 

6 

 
 
 
 
                                                 
The differing rules related to the use of vehicles hired in another Member State is confusing 
for  operators.  In  Spain,  cases  have  been  reported  in  the  past  where  foreign  operators  have 
been fined for using a vehicle which they have hired outside their country of establishment.17 

Overall,  the  level  of  compliance  with  the  Directive  seems  to  be  very  high  as  hardly  any 
violation of its rules has been reported. It has to be noted, though, that most Member States do 
not  collect  any  specific  information  on  the  compliance  with  their  respective  legislation 
governing the use of hired goods vehicles. The enforcement of the Directive is mostly part of 
more  comprehensive  enforcement  activities  mainly  targeting  violations  of  other  rules 
governing the road haulage market such as the social rules or the market access rules. 

Table  3  -  Summary  of  restrictions  concerning  the  use  of  hired  vehicles  registered  in 
another Member State 
Member State 

List of Member States 

Number of 
Member States 

Use of vehicles hired in another Member State by national operators 

No restrictions 

Maximum period after which 
registration is required 

National registration of (motor) vehicle 
required (usually within 20 days) 

8 

7 

13 

BG, ES, FR, CY, NL, SI, SK, UK 

AT, PL (1 month), LV, RO (3 months), BE, CZ 
(6 months), SE (12 months) 

DK, DE, EE, IE, EL, HR, IT, LT, LU, HU, MT, 
PT, FI 

Use of vehicles hired in another Member State by operators established in that 
Member State 

Allowed 

28 

(allowed in all MS as provided for in Article 2(1) 
of the Directive) 

Use of vehicles hired in a third Member State by operators from another 
Member State 

Allowed (assuming Community licence 
in place) 

18 

BG, DE, EE, EL, FR, HR, IT, CY, LT, HU, MT, 
NL, AT, RO, SI, FI, SE, UK 

BE, CZ, DK, IE, ES, LV, LU, PL, PT, SK 
10 
No information 
Source: Ricardo (2017): Impact assessment for a possible revision of Directive 2006/1/EC - Final report. 

4.2  Market situation  

4.2.1  Market penetration and characteristics of hired and leased goods vehicles 

The Directive covers all forms of vehicle hiring and leasing, from short-term renting to long-
term  financial  leasing.  A  relevant  distinction  can  be  made  between  renting  and  operating 
leasing  on  one  side  and  financial  leasing  on  the  other  side.  The  duration  of  renting  and 
operating  leasing  contracts  is  relatively  short-term  (below  one  year)  while  financial  leasing 
contracts  usually  last  more  than  one  year  and  up  to  several  years.  Moreover,  in  financial 
leasing,  the  vehicle  is  economically  owned  by  the  lessee  (it  appears  on  its  balance  sheet) 
while  the same  is  not  the  case  when  a  vehicle  is  rented  or  subject to  an  operational  leasing 
contract. Financial leasing is exempted from the restrictions on the use of hired goods vehicles 
for own account operations in Greece, Italy, Spain and Portugal. 

The  share  of  hired  or  leased  heavy  goods  vehicles  (HGV;  maximum  mass  >3.5  tonnes)  in 
total new registrations is estimated to be at least 40%, with wide variations from one Member 
State to another. As vehicles tend to move into ownership with age, the market penetration of 

17  The  current  situation  in  Spain  is  somewhat  unclear:  According  to  information  received  by  the  Commission,  the  legal 
framework appears not to have been changed, while "the infringement" has disappeared from the enforcement manual. 

7 

 
 
 
 
                                                 
hired and leased HGV in the total fleet is somewhat lower (around 16%). It is roughly twice 
as  high  as  the  corresponding  penetration  rate  of  hired  or  leased  light  commercial  vehicles. 
Looking  at  both  light  commercial  vehicles  (LCVs)  and  heavy  goods  vehicles  (HGVs) 
together, then about 10% of the total fleet in the EU is either rented or leased.  Half of them 
are estimated to be subject to rental or operating leasing contracts. Out of a total of about 36 
million goods vehicles in the EU, some 3.5 million are either leased or rented. Roughly half 
of them, around 1.75 million, are subject to rental and operating leasing contracts. 

Table 4 - Amount of leased and hired goods vehicles in the EU-28 in 2014 
Total stock in 
Type of vehicle 
EU-28 

Of which total 
leasing/hiring 

Share 
(%) 

Of which rental / 
operating leasing 

Light  commercial  vehicles  (LCVs) 
(<3.5 tonnes) 

29.8 million 

2.5 million 

8.4% 

1.42 million 

Share 
(%) 

56.7% 

Heavy  goods  vehicles 
(>3.5 tonnes) 

(HGVs) 

6.1 million 

1.0 million 

15.6% 

0.33 million 

34.8% 

Total 
Source: Leaseurope, Eurostat, national statistical offices. 

35.9 million 

3.5 million 

9.6% 

1.75 million 

50.7% 

As  mentioned  above,  rented  or  leased  vehicles  have  a  relatively  high  share  in  new 
registrations  of  motor  vehicles.  Several  forms  of  leasing  have  precisely  been  developed  to 
ease the market uptake of new vehicles equipped with the latest vehicle technology. Rented or 
leased  goods  vehicles  are  on  average  much  younger  than  the  total  vehicle  fleet.  Data  from 
national  authorities  (such  as  the  German  Federal  Motor  Transport  Agency)  and  information 
provided  by  Leaseurope  suggest  that  the  average  age  of  the  leased  fleet  is  between 4  and  6 
years lower than that of the overall fleet. 

Figures  for  2015  from  Eurostat  on  the  use  of  heavy  goods  vehicles  by  age  suggest  that  the 
share of vehicles older than 10 years in total mileage (vehicle-km) is highest in Greece (63%), 
Cyprus (39%), Bulgaria (38%), Poland (34%), the Czech Republic (30%), Portugal (30%) and 
Spain (26%). It appears that Member States which restrict the use of hired goods vehicles tend 
to be among those with the greatest activity of old vehicles. 

It should be noted in this context that newer vehicles are also less polluting since they have to 
comply with stricter emission standards. As hired goods vehicles are on average younger, they 
are  also  less  polluting  than  the  average  fleet.  The  use  of  hired  goods  vehicles  hence  entails 
some  environmental  benefits.  Since  2014,  only  EURO  VI  vehicles  can  be  placed  on  the 
market.  The  vast  majority  of  all  rented  or  leased  vehicles today  are  EURO  VI  vehicles,  the 
cleanest vehicle category on the market. 

4.2.2  The vehicle leasing sector 

The economic sector "renting and leasing of motor vehicles" (which covers only the provision 
of  renting  and  operational  leasing,  not  financial  leasing)  can  be  subdivided  into  the  class 
"renting  and  leasing  of  trucks"  (sector  N  77.12)  and  "renting  and  leasing  of  cars  and  light 
motor vehicles" (sector N 77.11).18  Eurostat data suggest that around 6,500 companies in the 
EU  are  (predominantly)  active  with  the  renting  and  leasing  of  trucks.  They  employ  some 
26,000 people and generate an annual turnover of €8-9 billion (data for 2014). These figures 
may  underestimate  the  total  size  of  the  business  as  undertakings  for  which  the  renting  and 
leasing of trucks is only a minor activity (e.g. because they mostly rent or lease passenger cars 
and light motor vehicles) are not included. Moreover, these figures do not include the renting 
and leasing of light commercial vehicles (which are covered by sector N 77.11). 

18  See page 274 here: http://ec.europa.eu/eurostat/documents/3859598/5902521/KS-RA-07-015-EN.PDF.  

8 

 
 
 
 
                                                 
The  three  biggest  markets  (Germany,  France  and  the  United  Kingdom)  account  for  around 
half  of  all  enterprises,  two  thirds  of  all  persons  employed  and  three  quarters  of  the  total 
turnover  generated  in  the  renting  and  leasing  of  trucks  business  in  the  EU.  A  comparison 
between  the  share  of  individual  EU  Member  States  in  the  EU  total  of  the  turnover  of 
enterprises predominantly active in the renting and leasing of trucks with the share of these 
Member  States  in  EU  GDP  provides  an  indication  on  where  the  market  for  the  renting  and 
leasing  of  trucks  is  still  relatively  underdeveloped.  This  is  in  particular  the  case  in  Italy, 
Portugal  and  Greece,  three  Member  States  which  restrict  the  use  of  hired  vehicles  for  own 
account transport. Their respective share in the EU turnover of the truck leasing business is 
much smaller than their share in EU GDP.19 

Figure 1 - Share in EU GDP and in total EU turnover in the economic sector "renting 
and leasing of trucks" in 2014 

Note: No data (on the share in EU turnover of sector N 77.12) available for CZ, EE, IE, ES, LU, MT and NL. 

Source: Eurostat structural business statistics. 

4.2.3  The road haulage sector 

The  road  haulage  sector  which  provides  road  freight  transport  services  for  hire  and  reward 
(incl.  removal  services;  sector  H  49.4)  in  the  EU  currently  consists  of  around  550,000 
companies which generate some €330 billion in turnover and which provide employment for 
about 3 million people. Almost all enterprises in the road haulage business are SMEs. More 
than 99% have no more than 50 employees. 

19  The absence of restrictions on the use of hired vehicles for own account operations in itself appears not to be a sufficient 
condition for a strong development of the sector "renting and leasing of trucks" (as other factors appear to hold back the 
sector in countries such as Romania, Slovakia or Slovenia which do not restrict the use of hired goods vehicles for own 
account operations). However, it appears to be a necessary condition for a strong development of the sector "renting and 
leasing of trucks" as no country with restrictions in place shows a relatively strong performing truck-renting sector. 

9 

0.0%5.0%10.0%15.0%20.0%25.0%30.0%35.0%40.0%DEUKFRITSEPLBEATDKFIELPTROHUSKHRBGSILTLVCYShare in EU GDP and in EU turnover in "renting and leasing of trucks"  in 2014share in total EU GDPshare in total EU turnover of sectorN 77.12 "renting and leasing of trucks" 
 
 
 
 
                                                 
Over  the  last  20  years,  overall  road  freight  transport  activity  (both  on  own  account  and  for 
hire and reward) in what is now the EU-28 has grown by around a third (measured in tonne-
km)  from  some  1,289  billion  tonne-km  in  1995  to  1,750  billion  tonne-km  in  2014.20  As 
overall freight transport activity across all modes has only grown by around a quarter over the 
same period, the modal share of road freight transport has increased from 45% to 49%. It is 
impossible to say to what extent the Directive has contributed to this development. 

In  the  context  of  the  Directive,  the  share  of  own  account  transport  in  total  road  freight 
transport activities is of some relevance. Own account transport is by definition not included 
in  the figures of the road haulage sector above as  own account  activities are "no more  than 
ancillary  to  the  overall  activities  of  the  undertaking"  (see  Article  1(5)(d)(v)  of  Regulation 
(EC)  No  1072/2009)  and  undertakings  carrying  out  own  account  operations  are  statistically 
recorded  under  the  sector  of  their  main  activity.  Eurostat  data  suggest  that  own  account 
transport  accounts  for  about  14%  of  all  road  freight  transport  activities  (in  terms  of  tonne-
km); 20% in national transport but no more than 5% in international transport. The share of 
own account in total transport differs quite considerably from one Member State to another as 
Figure 2 below shows.  

In case own account operators cannot hire a goods vehicle, they have two options: either they 
buy  a  vehicle  or  they  ask  a  professional  road  haulage  operator  to  carry  out  the  transport 
operation  for  them.  If  the  purpose  of  restricting  the  use  of  hired  vehicles  for  own  account 
transport  operations  was  to  stimulate  the  business  of  operators  who  provide  road  haulage 
services for hire and reward, then the share of own account operations in Member States with 
such  restrictions  should  be  lower  than  in  Member  States  without  such  restrictions.  This 
certainly does not hold for Greece where around one third of all road freight transport activity 
is carried out by own account operators. The share of own account transport in Portugal, Italy 
and, above all, Spain, however, in total transport activity is (well) below the EU average. 

Figure 2 - Share of own account operations in total road freight tonne-km in 2014  

Source: Eurostat transport statistics. 

20  See EU transport in figures. Statistical pocketbook 2016, p. 36. 

10 

0.0%5.0%10.0%15.0%20.0%25.0%30.0%35.0%40.0%CYELLUUKATROIEFRHRBENLDEEU28BGPLDKPTSIHUITCZSELVEEFISKLTESShare of own account transport in total road freight transport activities in 2014(based on tonne-km) 
 
 
 
 
                                                 
5  ANSWERS TO THE EVALUATION QUESTIONS 

5.1  Effectiveness 

The  effectiveness  of  the  Directive  refers  to  the  degree  to  which  its  objectives  have  been 
realised. The evaluation looks at whether the Directive has contributed to a better allocation of 
resources  and  to  an  increased  flexibility  and  hence  productivity  of  transport  undertakings. 
Under this criterion, unintended impacts are also investigated. 

Question 1: To what extent has the Directive affected the productivity / operating costs of 
undertakings and the flexibility in the organisation of transport operations? 

One of the general objectives of the Directive was to increase the productivity and flexibility 
of transport operators. In terms of the flexibility of operations, short-term rental contracts (up 
to 12 months) are important to be able to meet additional demand, even though they account 
for  a  relatively  small  share  of  total  hired  vehicle  contracts.  They  allow  firms  to  respond  to 
additional loads on an ad-hoc basis and to seasonal demand peaks. Furthermore, while longer 
term leasing contracts (longer than 12 months) are mainly chosen for the expected operational 
cost  reductions,  they  often  also  include  access  to  additional  capacity  that  can  help  address 
seasonal demand. In addition, access to hired vehicles, either short term or long term, is also 
important in terms of managing problems arising from defective/damaged vehicles. 

However, some stakeholders highlighted that the current legal regime concerning the use of 
vehicles registered in different Member States does not allow the use of vehicles which a firm 
has in one country to meet demand peaks in another country. 

In terms of the impact on productivity and operating costs, there are certain operational cost 
savings, particularly in the case of the long-term leasing of vehicles. In the (extreme) case of 
full-service  operating  leasing,  vehicle  operating  costs  could  be  10-30%  lower  compared  to 
owning  the  vehicle,  according  to  an  international  leasing  company.  Due  to  better  vehicle 
maintenance  and  the  younger  age  of  hired  vehicles,  hired  vehicles  tend  to  be  more  reliable 
and  also  more  fuel  efficient,  allowing  fuel  cost  savings  of  between  7  and  11%.  Overall, 
annual cost savings in the range of 1-10% have been reported as being realistic due to the 
use of hired goods vehicles, depending on the type of operation, the size of the undertaking 
and the type of vehicle hiring.  

While  no  quantitative  data  on  the  contribution  of  the  Directive  are  available,  qualitative 
information received during stakeholder interviews and also from the public consultation and 
the SME consultation suggests that the use of hired goods vehicles does indeed increase the 
flexibility  and  productivity  of  undertakings  and  that  a  legal  framework  in  the  EU  which 
ensures that undertakings may use hired vehicles under the same conditions as vehicles owned 
by them, also for international transport operations, provides a positive contribution to this. 

Question 2: To what extent has the Directive affected the use of factors of production (e.g. 
by avoiding capital to be tied up unnecessarily)? 

Overall,  the  analysis  has  shown  that  the  use  of  hired  goods  vehicles  can  have  a  positive 
impact  on  the  use  of  factors  of  production.  Hired  goods  vehicles  can  help  companies  avoid 
having capital that could be used for more productive purposes tied up in large assets such as 
vehicles. This is particularly attractive for credit-constrained companies (such as SMEs) and it 
allows  them  to  better  manage  their  cash  flows.  At  the  micro  level,  the  use  of  hired  goods 
vehicles is generally viewed as having a positive impact on utilisation rates, both according to 
relevant literature as well as interview input from leasing companies and leasing customers. 

11 

 
 
 
 
The  possibility  to  hire  goods  vehicles  avoids  the  purchase of  vehicles  that  are  subsequently 
underutilised. Operators that use hired goods vehicles tend to have lower shares of empty runs 
and  higher  utilisation  rates  than  the  average  fleet,  according  to  information  received  from 
leasing operators and confirmed by some of their customers. 

Through providing a legal framework - and hence some legal certainty - for the use of hired 
goods vehicles in the EU, the Directive has achieved its aims for the EU as a whole. However, 
due to the restrictions in some Member States (in particular in EL, ES, IT and PT), the hired 
vehicles sector does not reach its full potential in terms of improving factors of production. 

Question 3: To what extent have the exemptions possible under the Directive impacted the 
effectiveness of the Directive? 

The  Directive  allows  Member  States  to  restrict  the  use  of  hired  goods  vehicles  with  a 
maximum mass above 6 tonnes for own account operations and the use of any goods vehicle 
hired in another Member State. As mentioned above (section 4.1), a number of Member States 
are restricting the use of hired goods vehicles in these cases. 

The direct impact of restrictions in certain markets is that the markets for hired goods vehicles 
in  these  countries  are  underdeveloped  compared  with  the  situation  in  EU  Member  States 
without restrictions (see also Figure 1 above). In the case of restrictions on the use of hired 
goods vehicles for own account operations, a complete potential market segment is missing. 
In the case of Greece, around a third of the overall road haulage activity is off limits to the use 
of  hired  goods  vehicles.  In  the  case  of  Italy  and  Spain,  the  share  of  the  closed  market  is 
somewhat smaller in relative terms, but the affected market volume is bigger in absolute terms 
than in Greece. In Portugal, 11% of total road haulage activity is affected by the restrictions.  

Representatives of the leasing industry suggested that the existing restrictions in Italy, Spain, 
Portugal and Greece are the main reason for the low level of renting and operational leasing 
activity in these four countries and that they serve as a barrier to market entry. As such they 
contribute to less competition in the vehicle leasing sector in these countries which tends to 
lead to  higher costs  for undertakings hiring  goods vehicles (for hire  and reward  purposes) - 
quite  the  opposite  of  what  the  Directive  intended  to  achieve.  However,  no  quantitative 
information to support this aspect could be obtained. 

The  evidence  available  on  the  productivity  of  transport  operations  in  Member  States  with 
restrictions is less clear. The analysis of data on utilisation rates does not show lower average 
load factors in  Member States with restrictions, but the data on empty runs  - particularly in 
the  case  of  own  account  operations  –  is  more  supportive  of  the  claim  that  the  transport 
operations in Member States with restrictions tend to be less productive (see Figure 3 below). 

Leasing  companies  found  that  restrictions  on  the  cross-border  hiring  of  goods  vehicles 
prevent them from optimising the utilisation of their fleets as seasonal demand peaks in other 
Member States cannot be met by shifting their vehicles around to where they are most needed. 
They therefore have a negative impact on their productivity. No information on the extent to 
which their productivity is reduced by these restrictions was provided though. 

It can hence be concluded that restrictions on the use of hired goods vehicles appear to have a 
negative impact on the effectiveness of the Directive. Where Member States exempt specific 
market segments from the Directive, the effectiveness of the Directive is likely hampered to 
some extent. The benefits from the use of hired good vehicles which the Directive intends to 
promote  cannot  materialise.  Instead,  operators  are  left  with  a  lower  productivity,  less 
flexibility and higher costs. 

12 

 
 
 
 
Figure 3 - Share of empty vehicle-km in own account operations 2005-2015 

Note:  EU-20  =  20  Member  States  without  restrictions  on  the  use  of  hired  goods  vehicles  for  own  account 
operations (and for which data was available); no empty vehicle-km data available for BE, HR, IT, MT and RO. 

Source: Eurostat transport statistics. 

5.2  Efficiency 

Under  the  efficiency  criterion,  the  analysis  covers  the  cost  components  involved  for  the 
different  stakeholders  (national  administrations,  transport  operators)  to  comply  with  the 
provisions  of  the  Directive.  This  includes  compliance  costs  and  administrative  burden  in 
relation to enforcement and implementation of the provisions. 

Question  4:  What  are  the  costs  of  compliance  with  the  provisions  of  the  Directive  for 
specific stakeholders such as leasing companies, vehicle manufacturers, haulage operators, 
own account carriers etc.?  

Potential  compliance  costs  for  operators  relate  to  obtaining  the  correct  information  on  the 
rules across Member States and following these rules.  Key aspects to consider include: 

  Potential  restrictions  on  the  hiring  of  vehicles  for  own-account  operators  in  national 

legislation; 

  Potential  restrictions  on  hiring  vehicles  from  a  Member  State  other  than  that  from 

which the Community licence has been issued; 

  Potential  hiring  documentation  requirements  -  including  the  driver’s  employment 

contract as well as a certified copy of the vehicle hire contract. 

Operators and their associations interviewed have been unable to provide quantified estimates 
of  compliance  costs.  In  qualitative  terms,  the  costs  were  generally  considered  to  be  small 
though. The vehicle leasing companies and their associations indicated that they, too, did not 
consider  compliance  with  the  Directive  to  be  particularly  costly.  The  burden  which  the 
Directive  imposes  on  transport  operators  and  vehicle  renting  /  leasing  companies  is 
insignificant. 

13 

25.0%30.0%35.0%40.0%45.0%50.0%20052006200720082009201020112012201320142015Share of empty vehicle-km in total vehicle-km in own account transport operations in %; 2005-2015 ELESPTEU-20 
 
 
 
 
Question  5:  What  are  the  costs  incurred  by  national  authorities  for  implementing  and 
enforcing the Directive? 

The  analysis  of  the  costs  to  authorities  is  based  on  the  responses  of  competent  and 
enforcement authorities to the country fiche sent to them as part of the data collection process 
(see section 3.2 above). Overall, the responses of authorities indicate that implementation and 
enforcement costs have been negligible. In most cases, requirements for hiring goods vehicles 
are  few,  so  there  is  little  to  enforce.  Consequently,  they  were  unable  to  provide  data  on 
enforcement  activity  relating  specifically  to  the  rules  governing  the  use  of  hired  goods 
vehicles. Similarly, authorities could not point to any sizeable cost savings. 

In terms of tax revenues, the analysis suggests that the level of tax revenues lost for Member 
States  from  the  use  of  hired  goods  vehicles  registered  elsewhere  is  limited,  either  because 
Member States do not allow it or because it is not widely used. 

Question 6: To what extent are the overall costs which complying with the Directive impose 
on  haulage  companies  and  on  own  account  carriers  on  one  side  and  which  the 
implementation  of  the  Directive  places  on  national  authorities  on  the  other  side 
proportionate to the expected benefits of the Directive? 

As  mentioned  above  (answers  to  questions  4  and  5),  the  costs  which  hauliers  face  when 
complying  with  the  Directive  and  those  which  national  administrations  face  when 
implementing the Directive are small and negligible. This applies above all to Member States 
where the use of hired goods vehicles has been liberalised. However, the possibility to impose 
restrictions  on  the  use  of  hired  goods  vehicles  (which  the  Directive  allows  to  some  extent) 
does  create  costs  for  both  operators  and  national  administrations.  Operators  face  different 
rules from country to country which increases their compliance costs as they have to be aware 
of the variety of rules applied across the EU. Moreover, once  such restrictions are in  place, 
they prevent operators from benefitting from the increased flexibility and productivity which 
the  use  of  hired  vehicles  can  bring.  When  restrictions  are  in  place,  national  administrations 
usually  face  additional  enforcement  costs  which  they  wouldn't  have  if  there  were  no 
restrictions. 

To  the  extent  that  the  Directive  allows  the  use  of  hired  goods  vehicles,  it  brings  sizeable 
benefits  to  operators  which  make  use  of  this  possibility.  The  possibility  of  adjusting  one's 
fleet size in response to market conditions (flexibility) can lead to a better overall utilisation 
of vehicles across companies, as vehicles not required by one company can instead be used by 
another. Leaseurope believes that the systematic use of hired goods vehicles may lead to 10% 
fewer such vehicles being needed to provide the same amount of transport activity compared 
to a situation where all the goods vehicles are owned by the companies.  

In addition, the use of hired goods vehicles may lead to operating cost savings between 1 and 
10% (see question 1 above). The fact that many operators lease or rent vehicles indicates that 
the benefits of hiring generally outweigh the costs to operators  (otherwise they wouldn’t do 
it).  This  argument  even  holds  without  taking  into  account  potential  additional  social  and 
environmental  benefits  through  the  use  of  generally  newer,  safer  and  more  environmentally 
friendly hired vehicles.  

While  it  is  not  possible  to  directly  quantify  the  costs  and  the  benefits  of  the  Directive,  the 
anecdotal evidence provided suggests that the benefits clearly outweigh the costs for all types 
of stakeholders, especially because the costs are generally considered to be negligible. 

14 

 
 
 
 
Question 7: Are there ways to reduce the costs and to improve the cost/benefit ratio of the 
Directive? 

Both enforcement costs for authorities and the administrative burden on operators were found 
to  be  negligible  or  impossible  to  quantify,  in  particular  in  Member  States  where  the  use  of 
hired goods vehicles has been liberalised. Given that the costs are already low, it is unlikely 
that  the  cost/benefit  ratio  could  be  significantly  improved  by  further  cost  reductions. 
Changing  the  Directive  to  remove  administrative  requirements  such  as  the  requirement  to 
have a certified copy of the hire contract on board may further reduce administrative costs to 
operators and enforcement costs to authorities, but not to a large extent. While the scope for 
cost reductions is limited, the benefits of the Directive could be increased by abolishing the 
possibility  for  Member  States  to  restrict  the  use  of  hired  goods  vehicles.  This  would  also 
improve the cost/benefit ratio of the Directive. 

5.3  Relevance 

The question under this section tries to assess whether the Directive is still relevant to address 
the needs and problems it is supposed to address, given the current circumstances. 

Question 8: Given the development of road haulage markets over the last 25 years, does the 
Directive still meet the needs of the European economy in terms of flexibility and efficiency 
of road haulage operations and reflect current policy priorities? 

The road haulage market in the EU has quite considerably changed over the last 25 years, as 
has  the EU itself. The creation of the  single market for goods in  1992 also brought about a 
liberalisation  of  the  provision  of  road  freight  transport  services  in  the  EU.21  Quotas  have 
gradually  been  abolished,  international  transport  activities  have  been  completely  liberalised 
and cabotage operations have been authorised to some extent. At the same time, the EU has 
expanded  from  12  Member  States  in  1990  to  28  Member  States  today.  The  diversity  of  the 
EU  Member  States  in  terms  of  production  costs  is  much  greater  today  than  it  was  in  1990 
which has considerably increased the competitive pressure inside the internal market. 

The current policy priorities, as outlined in the 2011 White Paper on Transport22, call for the 
completion of the single market in the provision of transport services while at the same time 
reducing the negative social and environmental impacts of transport. Mobility is the lubricant 
of a successful economy and society and therefore has to be facilitated, but not at all costs: the 
greenhouse gas emissions of transport are to be reduced by 60% by 2050 compared with 1990 
levels and the number of road fatalities is to be halved by 2020 compared with 2010, with a 
vision of close to zero road fatalities by 2050. 

In  this  context,  the  objectives  and  priorities  of  the  Directive  in  terms  of  increasing  the 
flexibility and productivity of transport undertakings - as identified at the time of its adoption 
-  are  definitely  still  relevant  -  due  to  the  increased  competitive  pressure  in  today's  internal 
market, they are arguably even more relevant today than they were in 1990. Operators in the 
road  haulage  business  facing  generally  very  slim  margins  are  bound  to  make  use  of  the 
possibility of reducing their costs by using hired goods vehicles. 

21  In particular through Council Regulation (EEC) No 881/92 of 26 March 1992 (OJ L 95, 9.4.92, p. 1) and through Council 
Regulation  (EEC)  No  3118/93  of  25  October  1993  (OJ  L  279,  12.11.1993,  p.  1),  both  later  repealed  and  replaced  by 
Regulation (EC) No 1072/2009 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 21 October 2009 (OJ L 300, 14.11.2009, 
p. 72). 

22  Roadmap  to  a  Single  European  Transport  Area  -  Towards  a  competitive  and  resource-efficient  transport  system.  

COM(2011) 144 final of 28.3.2011. 

15 

 
 
 
 
                                                 
However,  to  the  extent  that  the  Directive  allows  Member  States  to  restrict  the  use  of  hired 
goods  vehicles  in  some  market  segments  and  if  certain  conditions  are  not  met  (vehicle 
registered in another country…), it goes against the needs of the European economy in terms 
of  flexibility  and  efficiency  of  road  haulage  operations.  Moreover,  by  allowing  Member 
States to restrict the use of hired goods vehicles which are generally newer, safer and more 
environmentally friendly, the Directive does not support the current policy priorities in terms 
of reducing the negative environmental impact of transport and the number of road fatalities 
as much as it otherwise could. 

5.4  Coherence  

Under  this  section,  the  coherence  of  the  Directive  with  other  rules  governing  the  EU  road 
haulage market as well as its coherence with current EU policy priorities is being evaluated. 

Question  9:  To  what  extent  are  the  provisions  of  the  Directive  coherent  with  other 
legislation governing the road haulage market, in particular the rules governing the access 
to  the  international  road  haulage  market  (Regulation  (EC)  No  1072/2009)  and  the  rules 
governing  the  access  to  the  occupation  of  road  transport  operators  (Regulation  (EC)  No 
1071/2009)? 

Directive 2006/1/EC and Regulations (EC) No 1071/2009 on access to the profession of road 
transport  operator23  and  (EC)  No  1072/2009  on  access  to  the  international  road  haulage 
market24  together  build  the  core  legislative  framework  of  the  EU  road  haulage  market.  The 
coherence between these legal acts should therefore be as great as possible. 

The  scope  of  the  Directive  differs  from  the  scope  of  the  two  Regulations:  The  Directive 
applies to all 'vehicles' as defined in its Article 1, i.e. "motor vehicles, trailers, semi-trailers, 
or a combination of vehicles intended exclusively for the carriage of goods". As the definition 
does not contain any weight limit, it applies to both hired light commercial vehicles (LCVs; 
maximum  mass  up  to  3.5  tonnes)  and  hired  heavy  goods  vehicles  (HGVs;  maximum  mass 
above 3.5 tonnes). The scope of the Directive thus goes beyond the one of Regulation (EC) 
No 1071/2009  which, unless  otherwise provided for in  national law, does  not  apply  to  road 
haulage  operators  using  exclusively  LCVs.  Member  States  may,  however,  lower  the  weight 
limit  for  all  or  some  categories  of  road  transport  undertakings  (see  its  Article  1(4)(a)).  In 
accordance  with  Article  5  lit  (b)  of  Regulation  (EC)  No  1071/2009,  it  is  sufficient  for  an 
undertaking to have a hired vehicle at its disposal to fulfil one of the conditions relating to the 
requirement of establishment.  

Regulation  (EC)  No  1072/2009  applies  to  the  international  carriage  of  goods  by  road  using 
"motor vehicle[s] registered in a Member State or a coupled combination of road vehicles the 
motor vehicle of which at least is registered in a Member State, [which are] used exclusively 
for  the  carriage  of  goods."  The  international  carriage  of  goods  on  own  account  does, 
according  to  Article  1(5)(d)  of  Regulation  (EC)  No  1072/2009,  not  require  a  Community 
licence  and  is  exempt  from  any  carriage  authorisation.  This  also  applies  to  the  use  of  hired 
vehicles for such purposes, as provided for in Article 1(5)(d)(iv). Here, a direct reference to 
the Directive is  made and its conditions have to be  met, hence full coherence appears to be 
ensured. According to the last sentence of Article 1(5)(d), however, the use of a replacement 
vehicle  -  which  is  often  hired  -  during  a  short  breakdown  of  the  vehicle  normally  used  is 
explicitly  exempted  from  this  provision,  meaning  that  in  such  a  case  Member  States  can 

23  OJ L 300, 14.11.2009, p. 51. 

24  OJ L 300, 14.11.2009, p. 72. 

16 

 
 
 
 
                                                 
require a Community licence  and/or  some other  carriage authorisation.  While this point has 
been raised by some stakeholders, the extent to which this is a real problem is not known. 

According  to  Article  4(3)  of  Regulation  (EC)  No  1072/2009,  the  holder  of  a  Community 
licence is entitled to a certified true copy of that licence for each vehicle at its disposal, be it 
owned  or  hired.  Some  Member  States  require  the  licence  plate  of  the  motor  vehicle  to  be 
indicated  on  the  certified  copy,  others  do  not.  As  hired  vehicles  typically  have  a  different 
licence plate and a different owner compared to the one indicated on the Community licence, 
questions on the validity of the certified copy are sometimes raised during roadside checks in 
case the number plate is not indicated on the certified copy. 

In  conclusion,  there  are  certain  discrepancies  of  the  Directive  with  the  provisions  in  other 
legislative  acts  governing  the  road  haulage  sector.  None  of  the  discrepancies  has  however 
been identified as a major issue in practice.  

Question 10: To what extent are the provisions of the Directive compatible with current EU 
policy  priorities  in  other  fields  (e.g.  environmental  protection,  GHG  emission  reduction, 
energy efficiency/resource efficiency)? 

As  the  provisions  of  the  Directive  date  from  1990,  its  coherence  with  the  following  more 
recent policy documents has been assessed: 

  The Agenda for Jobs, Growth, Fairness and Democratic Change of President Juncker25 
  The 2011 White Paper on Transport26 
  Europe 2020: A strategy for smart, sustainable and inclusive growth27 

Three of the so-called "Juncker priorities" contained in the Agenda for Jobs, Growth, Fairness 
and Democratic Change appear relevant in this context: 

  Priority 1: A New Boost for Jobs, Growth and Investment 
  Priority 3: A Resilient Energy Union with a Forward-Looking Climate Change Policy 
  Priority 4: A Deeper and Fairer Internal Market 

While the Directive indirectly addresses Priorities 1 and 3, it directly contributes to Priority 4. 
However,  the  analysis  shows  that  the  Directive  is  only  partly  in  line  with  the  EU  policy 
priorities in terms of the promotion of the internal market in both the road haulage sector and 
the  vehicle  leasing  sector  and  in  the  promotion  of  resource  efficiency  (see  also  partly  the 
answer to question 8 above).  

The provisions of Article 3(1) concerning the conditions for the use of hired goods vehicles in 
general  as  well  as  those  of  Article  2  concerning  their  use  in  the  case  of  cross-border  trade 
have a direct positive impact on the development of the hired vehicles market in the EU and 
they  provide  for  a  certain  level  of  harmonised  rules  for  the  road  haulage  sector.  Indirectly, 
they also contribute to the achievement of some of the social and environmental objectives set 
in the 2011 White Paper. However, Article 3(2) on own account operations and the omission 
of provisions covering the use of hired vehicles registered elsewhere are not in line with the 
EU policy priorities and appear to be in contradiction with the stated policy objectives. 

25  Juncker, J.-C. (2014): A new start for Europe. My agenda for Jobs, Growth, Fairness and Democratic Change. Political 
Guidelines  for  the  next  European  Commission.  https://ec.europa.eu/priorities/sites/beta-political/files/juncker-political-
guidelines-speech_en_0.pdf. 

26  COM(2011) 144 final of 28.3.2011. 

27  COM(2010) 2020 final of 3.3.2010. 

17 

 
 
 
 
                                                 
5.5  EU added value  

The  analysis  of  EU  added  value  looks  at  whether  action  at  the  EU  level  was  the  most 
appropriate or whether national rules would be as effective in achieving the objectives. 

Question  11:  What  is  the  added  value  of  the  Directive  at EU  level? Would  national  rules 
not  be  sufficient  to  achieve  the  objectives  of  the  Directive  (i.e.  the  same  level  of  resource 
efficiency and of productivity and operational flexibility)? 

Stakeholders  representing  the  vehicle  leasing  sector  and the  road  haulage  sector  agreed  that 
the EU level is the most relevant level to develop rules governing the use of hired vehicles in 
transport  operations.  In  the  public  consultation,  more  than  three  quarters  of  the  respondents 
were  of  the  opinion  that  the  EU  is  the  most  appropriate  level  to  design  rules  on  the  use  of 
hired  goods  vehicles  in  transport  operations  across  the  EU.  In  an  integrated  road  haulage 
market, there is a desire to have the same rules apply EU-wide thus ensuring a level playing 
field between operators.  

The Directive currently allows national rules related to the use of hired heavy goods vehicles 
for own account transport operations. As shown above (answer to question 3), these national 
rules can be counterproductive in the achievement of the objectives of the Directive. Without 
the Directive, the minimum level of liberalisation of the use of hired goods vehicles, which 
the Directive guarantees, would not exist. Member States would apply their own rules as they 
see fit. Overall, the patchwork of national rules would be even greater than it is now.  

6  CONCLUSIONS 

Effectiveness  

By  providing  the  legal  framework  that  ensures  that  hired  vehicles  can  be  used  in  the  same 
way as owned vehicles, the Directive has helped transport operators to lower their costs and 
increase  their  flexibility  and  productivity.  In  terms  of  the  flexibility  of  operations,  the 
possibility  to  hire  or  lease  goods  vehicles  is  an  important  and  effective  tool  in  meeting 
additional  demand,  in  particular  if  this  extra  demand  is  only  temporary.  Access  to  hired 
vehicles is also important to manage problems associated with defective/damaged vehicles. 

Due  to  better  vehicle  maintenance  and  the  relatively  low  age  of  hired  vehicles  (4-6  years 
younger than the overall fleet average), hired vehicles tend to be more reliable and also more 
fuel efficient, allowing fuel cost savings of between 7 and 11%. Overall, annual cost savings 
in the range of 1-10% appear achievable due to the use of hired goods vehicles, depending on 
the type of operation, the size of the undertaking and the type of vehicle hiring. 

Hired  goods  vehicles  can  help  companies  avoid  having  capital  that  could  be  used  for  other 
purposes tied up in large assets such as vehicles. This is particularly attractive for businesses 
that  are  credit  constrained  (such  as  SMEs)  and  it  allows  them  to  better  manage  their  cash 
flows.  The  possibility  to  hire  goods  vehicles  avoids  the  purchase  of  vehicles  that  are 
subsequently  underutilised.  Hired  vehicles  tend  to  have  higher  utilisation  rates  and  be  more 
efficiently used (lower share of empty runs) than the average fleet.  

Restrictions  on  the  use  of  hired  vehicles  in  some  Member  States  tend  to  lead  to  relatively 
underdeveloped  markets  for  vehicle  rental  and  leasing  companies  in  these  Member  States. 
They are also associated with a higher average age of commercial vehicles, an aspect that can 
have a negative impact on the fuel efficiency and the safety of vehicles.  

18 

 
 
 
 
Leasing  companies  found  that  restrictions  on  the  cross-border  hiring  of  goods  vehicles 
prevent them from optimising the utilisation of their fleets as seasonal demand peaks in other 
Member States cannot be met by shifting their vehicles around to where they are most needed. 
They therefore have a negative impact on their productivity. 

Efficiency 

The  costs  which  hauliers  face  when  complying with  the  Directive  and  those  which national 
administrations face when implementing the Directive are small and negligible. However, the 
possibility  to  impose  restrictions  on  the  use  of  hired  goods  vehicles  (which  the  Directive 
allows to some extent) does create extra costs for both operators and national administrations. 
Operators face different rules from country to country which increases their compliance costs 
as  they  have  to  be  aware  of  the  variety  of  rules  applied  in  the  EU.  Moreover,  once  such 
restrictions are in place, they prevent operators from benefitting from the increased flexibility 
and  productivity  which  the  use  of  hired  vehicles  can  bring.  When  restrictions  are  in  place, 
national administrations usually also face additional enforcement costs. 

While  it  is  not  possible  to  directly  quantify  the  costs  and  the  benefits  of  the  Directive,  the 
anecdotal evidence provided suggests that the benefits clearly outweigh the costs for all types 
of stakeholders, especially because the costs are generally considered to be negligible. 

Relevance 

The  objectives  of  the  Directive  in  terms  of  increasing  the  flexibility  and  productivity  of 
transport  undertakings  -  as  identified  at  the  time  of  its  adoption  -  are  arguably  even  more 
relevant  today  than  they  were  in  1990,  due  to  the  increased  competitive  pressure  in  today's 
internal market. Operators in the road haulage business facing generally very slim margins are 
bound  to  make  use  of  the  possibility  of  reducing  their  costs  by  using  hired  goods  vehicles. 
However,  to  the  extent  that  the  Directive  allows  Member  States  to  restrict  the  use  of  hired 
goods vehicles in some market segments and if certain conditions are not met, it goes against 
the  needs  of  the  European  economy  in  terms  of  flexibility  and  efficiency  of  road  haulage 
operations. 

Coherence 

There  are  certain  discrepancies  of  the  Directive  with  the  provisions  in  other  legislative  acts 
governing the road haulage sector (Regulations (EC) No 1071/2009 and (EC) No 1072/2009). 
None  of  the  discrepancies  has  however  been  identified  as  a  major  issue  in  practice.  The 
coherence with current policy priorities is only limited since the Directive still allows Member 
States to restrict the use of hired goods vehicles which does not help build an integrated single 
market, lower fuel consumption or improve the environmental performance. 

EU value added  

In  an  integrated  road  haulage  market,  the  EU  is  the  most  relevant  level  to  develop  rules 
governing the use of hired goods vehicles. Operators want harmonised rules across the EU as 
they guarantee a level playing field. Only the EU can provide this. Where Member States are 
given the freedom to define their own rules, such as regarding the use of hired heavy goods 
vehicles for own account transport operations, the ensuing patchwork of rules goes against the 
objectives of the Directive. The EU value added could be bigger if there were fewer national 
restrictions on  the  use  of  hired  goods  vehicles (which  the  Directive  allows)  and  if  the  rules 
were more harmonized across the EU. 

19 

 
 
 
 
Annex I: Intervention logic diagram 

Intervention logic of Directive 2006/1/EC  

20 

 
 
 
Annex II: Procedural information concerning the process to prepare the evaluation  

1. Identification of the lead DG; Agenda planning/Work Programme references 

  DG MOVE is the lead Directorate General. 

  The  evaluation  was  validated 

in 

the  Agenda  Planning  under  reference  n° 

2015/MOVE/111. 

2. Organisation and timing 

  The evaluation of the Directive was launched on 14 April 2015 with the first meeting 
of  the  Steering  Group,  to  which  were  invited  representatives  from  the  Secretariat 
General  (SG),  Legal  Service  (LS),  Directorate-General  for  Climate  Action  (DG 
CLIMA),  Directorate-General  for  Energy  (DG  ENER),  Directorate-General  for 
Environment  (DG  ENV),  Directorate-General  for  Employment,  Social  Affairs  and 
Inclusion 
Industry, 
Entrepreneurship  and  SMEs  (DG  GROW)  and  Directorate-General  for  Taxation  and 
Customs Union (DG TAXUD). 

(DG  EMPL),  Directorate-General 

Internal  Market, 

for 

  The  evaluation  roadmap  including  the  evaluation  questions,  as  well  as  the  terms  of 
reference for an external study were discussed and agreed with the Steering Group in 
May 2015. 

  On 9 September 2015, the Commission signed a contract with an external contractor 

to carry out a study on the ex-post evaluation of Directive 2006/1/EC. 

  The Steering Group was consulted on the inception report (October 2015), the interim 
report  (November  2015),  the  draft  final  report  (December  2015)  and  the  final  report 
(January 2016). The report was approved in March 2016. 

  The Steering Group was also consulted on the draft of this staff working document in 

February 2017.  

  The consultation of the Regulatory Scrutiny Board did not take place as the evaluation 

was not selected by the interim Regulatory Scrutiny Board. 

3. Evidence used 

  The  evaluation  relies  mostly  on  the  study  on  the  "Ex  post  evaluation  of  Directive 

2006/1/EC" conducted by an external consultant28. 

28   https://ec.europa.eu/transport/sites/transport/files/facts-fundings/evaluations/doc/2016-ex-post-evaluation-of-directive-

2006-1-ec-final-report.pdf 

 
 
 
 
 
                                                 
 
Annex III: Stakeholder consultation 

The consultation, which encompassed a series of consultation activities, aimed at:  

  providing stakeholders and the general public an opportunity to express their views on 
all elements relevant for the functioning of the existing rules on the use of hired goods 
vehicles as well as to express their positions on the possible/desirable changes to the 
regulatory framework. 

  gathering  specialised  input  (data  and  factual  information,  expert  views)  on  specific 
aspects of the legislation (e.g. need for specific restrictions regarding the use of hired 
vehicles)  in  particular  from  stakeholders  affected  by  existing  restrictions  and  from 
stakeholders who benefit from existing restrictions. 

  providing relevant input for the validation of the outcome of the ex-post evaluation of 
the  existing  Directive  and  for  the  preparation  of  the  impact  assessment  related  to  a 
possible  legislative  initiative  addressing  the  identified  shortcomings  of  the  existing 
legislation. 

Consultation activities 

The following consultation activities have been carried out: 

In  September  and  October  2015,  the  Commission  organised  seminars  with  (EU  level) 
stakeholders and Member States to discuss, among others, also the experience they had with 
Directive 2006/1/EC and get a first feeling of the positions of important stakeholders. 

Targeted consultation of authorities and expert stakeholders 

A (partly pre-filled) country fiche was sent to the competent national authorities of all 28 EU 
Member  State  to  find  out  about  the  legal  framework  in  relation  to  the  use  of  hired  goods 
vehicles in each Member State and to consult them on their experience with the Directive and 
the  associated  administrative  burden  and  cost  they  incur  for  its  implementation  and 
enforcement. 

The  authorities  were  given  (at  least)  7  weeks  to  respond  to  the  questionnaire.  A  total  of  24 
country fiches were returned, however mostly incomplete. No feedback was received from the 
authorities in Portugal and Denmark. The authorities in Ireland and the Netherlands provided 
some  information  on  the  implementation  of  the  Directive  but  did  not  answer  the  questions 
raised in the respective country fiche.  

In addition, a total of 73 stakeholders have been contacted from a range of sectors including 
leasing  companies  and  their  associations,  haulage  operators  and  their  associations  and  their 
customers (see Table 3-1 below). In the end, it was only possible to complete the interviews 
with 29 of the 73 stakeholders that had been contacted.  

The interviews provided valuable information on the impact which the Directive has had on 
the sectors most affected by it. Moreover, they could be used to cross-check claims made by 
some  stakeholder  groups  (e.g.  the  information  on  the  costs  and  benefits  of  leasing  vehicles 
provided by representatives from the leasing industry was cross-checked with their customers, 
the transport operators). 

22 

 
 
 
Table 3-1: Summary of stakeholder interviews  
Type of stakeholder 

Contacted  Completed  Completion Rate 

Vehicle leasing industry operators and associations 

Road haulage operators and associations 

Undertakings carrying out own account operations 

Associations of customers of road transport operators 

Vehicle manufacturers 

Driver and other road transport workers associations 

Member States' road transport authorities 

National competent authorities 

Other stakeholders (NGOs) 

24 

16 

2 

8 

4 

1 

9 

7 

2 

7 

8 

2 

3 

1 

1 

3 

4 

0 

Total 
Source: Ricardo (2016): Ex-post evaluation of Directive 2006/1/EC - Final report. 

73 

29 

12 week online open public consultation (OPC) on Your Voice in Europe 

29% 

50% 

100% 

37% 

25% 

100% 

33% 

57% 

0% 

40% 

In  addition,  an  online  public  consultation  was  carried  out  between  11  August  2016  and  4 
November  2016  (12  weeks).  A  link  to  the  consultation  was  provided  on  the  corresponding 
website of DG MOVE.29 In order not to create too much consultation fatigue, a back-to-back 
consultation  was  carried  out  that  would  gather  views  related  to  both  the  ex-post  evaluation 
(i.e. views on the experience with the present Directive and on the use of hired goods vehicles 
in  general)  and  related  to  a  subsequent  impact  assessment  of  a  possible  revision  of  the 
Directive (i.e. views on specific policy options and their expected impacts). Respondents were 
also given the opportunity to provide any further comments at the end of the questionnaire. 

A  total  of  27  respondents  returned  the  online  questionnaire.  Almost  half  of  them  (13)  were 
transport  operators  or  associations  representing  them.  Public  authorities  (5)  and  vehicle 
leasing  companies  (4)  accounted  for  19  and  15%  respectively  of  the  respondents.  The 
remaining 4 responses were from organisations representing the business interests of SMEs, a 
communal enterprise association and a private citizen (see Table 3-2 below). 

The respondents came from a total 15 Member States; 3 respondents indicated that they were 
based in more than one Member State. This covered 10 of the 15 Member States of the EU 
before 2004 (BE, DE, ES, FR, IT, NL, AT, FI, SE and UK) and 5 of the 13 Member States 
that had joined the EU since then (CZ, EE, LV, MT and PL).  

Table 3-2: Respondents to the questionnaire of the public consultation 
Type of stakeholder 

Number of responses 

Transport operators / their representatives 

Public authorities 

Vehicle leasing companies / their representatives 

Organisations representing general and SME business interest 

Public / communal enterprise association 

Private individual 

Total 

13 

5 

4 

2 

1 

1 

27 

29  See here: http://ec.europa.eu/transport/modes/road/consultations/2016-review-hired-vehicles-carriage-goods_en 

23 

 
 
                                                 
SME Panel survey 

Finally, as most companies affected by the Directive are SMEs, a specific consultation using 
the  SME  panel  of  the  Enterprise  Europe  Network30  was  carried  out  to  gather  views  from 
SMEs.  It  went  from  22  September  2016  till  11  November  2016  (7  weeks).  Two  separate 
questionnaires had been prepared, one related to the use of hired goods vehicles and the other 
related to the use of hired buses and coaches. As the second one is not relevant for the ex-post 
evaluation the focus here will be on the first one.  

A total of 156 responses were received to the questionnaire on the use of hired goods vehicles 
that  had  been  sent  to  the  SME  panel.  They  came  from  various  economic  sectors.  The 
transport,  storage  and  communication  sector  (which  provide  transport  services  for  hire  and 
reward) and the sector wholesale and retail trade (which is an important player in own account 
transport activities) were most represented.  

Table  3-3:  Respondents  to  the  questionnaire  on  the  use  of  hired  goods  vehicles  sent  to 
the SME panel by sector 
Sector 

Number of responses 

Transport, storage and communication 

Wholesale and retail trade 

Manufacturing 

Other community, social and personal service activities 

Construction 

45 

43 

22 

18 

15 

Other* 
Note:  The  total  (169)  is  above  the  number  of  respondents  (156)  as  the  questionnaire  allowed  respondents  to 
select multiple sectors.  

26 

*  'Other'  includes  mining  and  quarrying,  electricity,  gas  and  water  supply,  hotels,  restaurants  and  bars,  public 
administration  and  defence,  education,  finance  intermediation,  health  and  social  work,  real  estate,  renting  and 
business activities, and agriculture, hunting and forestry. 

The  respondents  to  the  SME  panel  questionnaire  related  to  the  use  of  hired  goods  vehicles 
came from a total of 13 EU Member States (from 6 of the 15 Member States of the EU before 
2004 (DK, DE, ES, FR, IT and PT) and from 7 of the 13 Member States which have joined 
the EU since then (EE, LT, HU, PL, RO, SI and SK)). Around 70% of the respondents came 
from the three Member States Romania (39%), Poland (19%) and Italy (13%). 

Results of consultation activities 

The  feedback  received  from  the  competent  authorities  of  the  EU  Member  States  and  some 
additional  desk  research  allowed  the  mapping  of  the  legal  framework  governing  the  use  of 
hired  goods  vehicles  in  all  Member  States.  As  indicated  in  Table  2  of  the  main  report,  4 
Member  States  (EL,  ES,  It  and  PT)  were  found  to  restrict  the  use  of  hired  goods  vehicles 
above  6  tonnes  for  own  account  operations  while  in  all  other  Member  States  own  account 
operators were free to use hired goods vehicles. 

A  complete  picture  could  also  be  gathered  on  the  rules  that  apply  when  an  undertaking 
established on the territory of one Member State hires a vehicle that is registered in another 
Member State. The rules are mostly related to the possible need for re-registration of the hired 

30  https://een.ec.europa.eu/  

24 

 
 
                                                 
vehicle.  No  complete  picture  could  however  be  obtained  on  the  rules  Member  States  apply 
when a foreign undertaking uses a vehicle on their territory which has been hired in a third 
Member  State.  Here,  only  18  Member  States  provided  feedback  that  there  should  be  no 
problem as long as the operator has a valid Community licence (and a certified copy thereof 
for the vehicle in question). 

The  targeted  stakeholder  consultation  provided  some  insight  into  the  potential  benefits  of 
using  hired  goods  vehicles  (to  which  the  Directive  contributes  by  establishing  an  EU-wide 
legal framework) and on the cost of implementing and enforcing the Directive. Stakeholders 
active  in  the  vehicle  hiring  and  leasing  business  and  their  customers  as  well  as  national 
authorities agreed that the costs of implementing and enforcing the Directive were small and 
negligible. None of them was able to provide concrete cost figures. For national authorities, 
the enforcement and implementation of the Directive is mostly part of bigger exercises where 
the focus is mainly on the enforcement of other road transport legislation (such as the social 
rules and the market access rules). 

Vehicle  leasing  companies  and  their  associations,  in  particular  Leaseurope,  the  European 
Federation of Leasing Company Associations, provided some useful and relevant information 
on the costs and benefits of using hired goods vehicles. The ability to reduce costs by hiring a 
vehicle  instead  of  buying  and  owning  one  could  be  quantified  (1-10%  per  year).  Transport 
operators did not provide any quantitative estimates related to the possible cost reductions - 
which  could  have  been  used  to  cross-check the information  provided  by  Leaseurope  -,  they 
confirmed that the figures provided by the leasing industry were reasonable. 

The  potential  benefits  of  hiring  vehicles  were  also  acknowledged  in  the  consultation  of  the 
SME panel where the majority of the 156 respondents indicated that increasing the flexibility 
of  operations,  meeting  seasonal  or  temporary  demand  peaks,  addressing  issues  related  to 
defective / damaged vehicles, reducing operating costs and having access to specific types of 
vehicles  were  considered  either  important  or  very  important  benefits.  Indirectly,  the  open 
public  consultation  also  confirmed  this  view  as  the  majority  of  respondents  (15  out  of  25) 
indicated  that  the  impacts  which  existing  restrictions  would  have  on  the  reduction  of  the 
flexibility of transport operations were considered to be either fairly or very important. 

The main issue brought up in the public consultation was the patchwork of rules that apply to 
the use of hired goods vehicles in the EU. Two thirds (11 out of 17) of all respondents found 
the unclear implementation of the existing rules concerning the use of hired goods vehicles a 
very important or fairly important problem. Three quarters (19 out of 25) of all respondents 
thought that the presence of different restrictions across EU Member States when it comes to 
the  use  of  hired  goods  vehicles  with  a  maximum  mass  above  6  tonnes  by  own  account 
operators would create a complicated legal framework that caused uncertainty for firms and 
transport  operators.  No  fewer  than  84%  of  all  respondents  (21  out  of  25)  thought  that  the 
complicated  legal  framework  related  to  the  use  of  a  goods  vehicle  that  has  been  hired  in 
another Member State was causing uncertainty for firms. 

As the road haulage business in the EU is increasingly international, operators call for more 
harmonised rules to increase the legal certainty of their operating environment. It is arguably 
for  the  same  reason  that  more  than  three  quarters  (19  out  of  24)  of  the  respondents  in  the 
public  consultation  were  of  the  opinion  that  the  EU  is  the  most  appropriate  level  to  design 
rules on the use of hired goods vehicles in transport operations across the EU. 

25 

 
 
Use of consultation results 

It  was  not  possible  to  get  much  quantitative  information  from  the  consultation  process. 
However,  the  qualitative  information  that  has  been  gathered  was  of  great  value  for  this 
evaluation  as  (1)  the  feedback  received  was  fairly  consistent  and  plausible  and  (2) no  other 
source was available, as there is no monitoring report on the implementation of the Directive. 

The information gathered from the stakeholders was used to get an overview of the situation 
related to the use of hired goods vehicles in the EU and to answer the evaluation  questions. 
The information was also used as input for the problem definition of the impact assessment on 
the revision of Directive e2006/1/EC.  

26