In the past two years, approximately one in five commercial vehicles failed the mandatory general inspection (HU) due to major or dangerous defects, according to the “TÜV-Report Nutzfahrzeuge 2026,” which was released on Wednesday.
This data indicates that the overall failure rate dropped slightly by 0.1 percentage points compared to the previous year’s report. The analysis is based on approximately 2.4 million inspections conducted on light transporters through to heavy trucks during 2024 and 2025. The TÜV experts identified lighting problems, loss of oil in the engine or drive train, and faults with the axle suspensions as the most frequently occurring defects.
Among the different categories, heavy trucks weighing over 18 tons registered the highest failure rate at 21.8% (down marginally from 21.9% the previous year). Richard Goebelt, head of the Vehicle and Mobility sector at the TÜV Association, commented that a reduction in new vehicle acquisitions over recent years has contributed to increased wear and tear. The failure rates rise significantly as the vehicles age; ten-year-old heavy vehicles, for instance, showed a failure rate of 28.5%.
Conversely, medium-sized trucks (between 7.5 and 18 tons) performed the best with a failure rate of 16.3% (a small decrease from 16.5%). Light transporters, those up to 3.5 tons, maintained a failure rate of 21.5% (unchanged year-on-year).
