Changes to the driving licence: vehicles of up to 4,250 kg will be allowed to be driven

For the time being, all drivers holding a category B licence can drive vehicles with a maximum authorised mass of no more than 3,500 kg. This means that with this licence you can drive anything from a city car to a small lorry, as long as it does not exceed that MAM. A wide range of vehicles that gives us considerable freedom when it comes to getting around by road.

But at the moment, there are vehicles that normally fall within these characteristics but weigh more. Electric cars, especially the larger ones, weigh more than the 3,500 kg set by law, and this is a problem. Another group that sees this limit does not allow them to enjoy their hobby is motorhome and campervan users.

These vehicles can also exceed this weight, even if only slightly, which turns a pleasant trip to enjoy free time into something even more complicated. That is why a request has been submitted to the European Parliament to increase that figure and allow the category B licence to be used to drive vehicles with a MAM of up to 4,250 kg.

This is more important than we think. As I have already mentioned, electric cars weigh considerably more than those with combustion engines. The presence of the battery makes the weight increase considerably, and electric versions of models weigh more than their ICE equivalents.

In addition, there are vehicles designed to be heavy and to have quite significant capabilities, such as the Hummer EV and the Rivian R1T, which exceed 3,500 kg. It could even be good news for bringing the long-awaited Tesla Cybertruck closer to market.

But for the time being, this change is little more than a request submitted to the European Parliament. The reason is that the European elections are just around the corner and it cannot be dealt with before then. Afterwards, the next Parliament will have to be constituted and go through all the necessary procedures for the change to be made, if it is chosen to do so.

So although this is a promising change, it will take several years to come into force and we will still need a higher licence for any vehicle that exceeds, even slightly, the 3,500 kg currently provided for by legislation.