road tax/toll for hybrids in europe

I think they vary wildly between Countries.

I can tell you about the UK as that's where I am from. The only benefits are that there is no annual car tax to pay on any vehicle whose CO2 emissions are 100g/km or less - the latest Prius falls into this band. Car tax must be paid yearly and ranges from £0 for 100g/km or less upto about £400 for a Range Rover or similar. It must be paid on time and there are heavy penalties for non-payment.

The only other benefit is free access within the London Congestion Charge area. To enter central London all cars must pay a daily fee of about £8. The exceptions are all hybrid vehicles and certain other low/lower emissions vehicles. This is due to be changed shortly so that only vehicles that emit 100g/km or less are exempt from the charge and all others must pay. This new banding isn't just for hybrids but also some new efficient diesel cars. Older or larger hybrids such as the Lexus RX400h will no longer qualify for free entry. There are very heavy penalties for non payment of the charge.

There are also tax benefits for company car drivers of hybrids or commercial use hybrids (such as my taxi). So for owners outside of London the only benefits are the free annual road tax and certain income tax benefits, as well as the reduced fuel use.

Hope this helps.

 

In The Netherlands they started this year with no roadtax for the Prius.
The year before we paid only half of the regular fare. I think it saves about € 600 per year.

 

Here in Portugal a car for the moment of sale (new) has a cost tax, which adds to VAT. That depends on cm3 and gCO2/km.
Not very easy to explain here, due to a complex and rather incomprehensive and unfair expression, I would link
Tabelas ISV 2010 – Cálculo do Imposto Sobre Veículos (Provisório) | Economia e Finanças
Here hybrids have a good advantage, since this tax is divided by two.

Regarding road tax (annually) there is no room for hybrids, and because of the "very large displacement" 1.8, my Prius pays a bit more than a 1.6 non-hybrid, which helds more CO2 emission. I find it incredible.
Tabela Imposto Único Circulação (IUC) 2010 - Tabela Imposto Único de Circulação - Imposto Sobre Veículos e Imposto Único de Circulação


Good to drive a Prius here, means you are wealthy...

 

To add to Mr Cabby's notes. If your vehicle is London Congestion Charge exempt, you need a certificate (from Toyota) and you have to pay a £10 a year registration fee to be exempt. You can't just drive into central London in a Prius and not pay.
Congestion Charging | Transport for London

Also, we now have a 1st year registration car tax which for new Prius is £0 but can go up to £950 for other vehicles. You can get the car tax data here...
The cost of vehicle tax for cars, motorcycles, light goods vehicles and trade licences : Directgov - Motoring