Considerations on COM(2022)586 - Type-approval of motor vehicles and engines and of systems, components and separate technical units for such vehicles, regarding emissions and battery durability (Euro 7) - Main contents
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| dossier | COM(2022)586 - Type-approval of motor vehicles and engines and of systems, components and separate technical units for such vehicles, ... |
|---|---|
| document | COM(2022)586  |
| date | April 24, 2024 |
(2) The technical requirements for the type-approval of motor vehicles, engines and replacement parts with regard to emissions (‘emission type-approval’) should remain harmonised to ensure the proper functioning of the internal market, as well as a high level of environmental and health protection common in all Member States.
(3) This Regulation is a separate regulatory act for the purposes of the EU type-approval procedure laid down in Annex II to Regulation (EU) 2018/858. It lays down provisions and requirements on vehicle emissions and battery durability, whereas the technical elements will be laid down by implementing acts adopted in accordance with the examination procedure and the assistance of a committee within the meaning of Regulation (EU) No 182/2011 (comitology procedure).
(4) The technical requirements for the type-approval of motor vehicles, engines and replacement parts with regard to emissions (‘emission type-approval’) are currently set out in two Regulations that apply to emission type-approval for light-duty and heavy-duty vehicles respectively, i.e. Regulation (EC) No 715/2007 of the European Parliament and of the Council (‘Euro 6’) 44 and Regulation (EC) No 595/2009 of the European Parliament and of the Council (‘Euro VI’) 45 . The reason for having two Regulations was that the emissions of heavy-duty vehicles were checked based on engine testing, while for light-duty vehicles the basis was whole vehicle testing. Since then, methodologies have been developed that allow testing of both light- and heavy-duty vehicles on the road. It is therefore no longer necessary to base type-approval on engine testing.
(5) Incorporating the requirements laid down in Regulation (EC) No 715/2007 and Regulation (EC) No 595/2009 into a single Regulation should ensure internal coherence of the system of emission type-approvals for both light and heavy-duty vehicles, while allowing for different emission limits for such vehicles.
(6) Furthermore, the current emission limits were adopted in 2007 for light-duty vehicles and for heavy-duty vehicles in 2009. Both emission limits were adopted on the basis of the then available technology. Since then, technology has advanced and the level of emissions achieved with a combination of current technologies is much lower than that achieved more than 15 years ago. That technological progress should be reflected in emission limits based on state-of-the-art existing technology and knowledge of pollution controls and for all relevant pollutants.
(7) It is also necessary to reduce complexity, administrative and implementation costs for manufacturers and authorities and to ensure effective and efficient implementation of the Euro emission standards. Simplification is achieved by eliminating different application dates for the limits and tests which existed under Euro 6 and Euro VI, by eliminating multiple and complex emission tests where such tests are not needed, by referring to standards under existing UN Regulations where applicable, and by ensuring a streamlined and consistent set of procedures and tests for the various phases of the emission type-approval.
(8) In order to ensure that the emissions for both light and heavy duty vehicles are limited in real life, testing vehicles in real conditions of use with a minimum set of restrictions, boundaries and other driving requirements and not only in the laboratory is required.
(9) The accuracy of the portable emission measurement equipment used for measuring the emissions of vehicles used on the road has improved significantly since their introduction. It is therefore appropriate to base the emission limits on such on-road measurements and therefore on-road testing no longer requires the use of conformity factors.
(10) Regulations (EC) No 715/2007 and (EC) No 595/2009 require that vehicles respect the emission limits for a specified period of time, which does not correspond anymore to the average lifetime of vehicles. It is therefore appropriate to lay down durability requirements that reflect the average expected lifetime of vehicles in the Union.
(11) There are now technologies available and used widely worldwide that limit evaporative emissions of volatile organic compounds during the use, parking and refuelling of a vehicle with petrol fuel. It is therefore appropriate to set the emission limits for such volatile organic compounds at a lower level and introduce emission limits for the refuelling phase.
(12) Non-exhaust emissions consist of particles emitted by tyres and brakes of vehicles. Emissions from tyres is estimated to be the largest source of microplastics to the environment. As shown in the Impact Assessment, it is expected that by 2050, non-exhaust emissions will constitute up to 90% of all particles emitted by road transport, because exhaust particles will diminish due to vehicle electrification. Those non-exhaust emissions should therefore be measured and limited. The Commission should prepare a report on tyre abrasion by the end of 2024 to review the measurement methods and state-of-the-art in order to propose tyre abrasion limits.
(13) Regulation (EU) 2019/2144 of the European Parliament and of the Council 46 regulates gear shift indicators (GSI), whose main purpose is to minimise fuel consumption of a vehicle when a driver follows its indications. However, the pollutant emission requirements in real use, including when following the GSI, should be addressed in this Regulation.
(14) Vehicles with traction batteries, including plugin hybrids and battery electric vehicles, contribute to the decarbonisation of the road transport sector. In order to gain and increase consumer trust in such vehicles, they should be performant and durable. It is therefore important to require that traction batteries retain a good part of their initial capacity after many years of use. That is of particular importance to buyers of second hand electric vehicles to ensure that the vehicle will continue to perform as expected. Monitors of the battery state-of-health should therefore be required for all vehicles that use traction batteries. In addition minimum performance requirements for battery durability of passenger cars should be introduced, taking into account the UN Global Technical Regulation 22 47 .
(15) Tampering of vehicles to remove or deactivate parts of the pollution control systems is a well-known problem. Such practice leads to uncontrolled emissions and should be prevented. Tampering of the odometer, leads to false mileage and hampers the proper in-service control of a vehicle. It is therefore of the utmost importance to guarantee the highest possible security protection of those systems, complete with security certificates and appropriate anti-tampering protection to ensure that neither pollution control systems nor the vehicle odometer can be tampered with.
(16) Sensors installed on vehicles are already used today to detect anomalies on emissions and trigger related repairs through the on-board diagnostic (OBD) system. The OBD system currently in use, however, does not detect accurately or timely the malfunctions and neither does it sufficiently and timely force repairs. As a result, it is possible that vehicles emit much more than they are allowed to do. The sensors used up to now for OBD can also be used to monitor and control the emission behaviour of the vehicles on a continuous basis via an on-board monitoring (OBM) system. The OBM will also warn the user to perform repairs of the engine or the pollution control systems when these are needed. It is therefore appropriate to require that such a system is installed and to regulate its technical requirements.
(17) Manufacturers may opt to produce vehicles which comply with lower emission limits or with better battery durability than what is required in this Regulation, or which include advanced options including geofencing and adaptive controls. Consumers and national authorities should be able to identify such vehicles through appropriate documentation. An environmental vehicle passport (EVP) should therefore be made available.
(18) In case the Commission makes a proposal for registering after 2035 new light-duty vehicles running exclusively on CO2 neutral fuels outside the scope of the CO2 fleet standards, and in conformity with Union law and the Union’s climate neutrality objective, this Regulation will need to be amended to include the possibility to type approve such vehicles.
(19) Emissions from vehicles sold by small volume manufacturers constitute an insignificant part of emissions in the Union. Some flexibility may therefore be allowed in some of the requirements for such manufacturers. Small volume manufacturers should therefore be able to substitute certain tests during type-approval with declarations of compliance, while ultra-small volume manufacturers should be allowed to use laboratory tests based on random real-driving cycles.
(20) Regulations (EU) 2019/631 48 and (EU) 2019/1242 49 of the European Parliament and of the Council regulate the average fleet CO2 emission performance for new motor vehicles in the Union. The procedures and methodologies for the accurate determination of CO2 emissions, fuel and energy consumption, electric range and power for individual vehicles should be introduced in emission type-approval.
(21) In order to ensure uniform conditions for the implementation of this Regulation, implementing powers should be conferred on the Commission in relation to obligations of manufacturers as part of type-approval and procedures, test and methodologies to be applied for declaration of conformity, conformity of production check, in-service conformity-check and environmental vehicle passport (EVP); options and designations of vehicles; requirements, tests, methods and corrective measures related to durability of vehicles, systems, components and separate technical units, as well as registration and communication capabilities of OBM systems, including for the purpose of periodic technical inspections and roadworthiness checks; requirements and information to be provided by manufacturers of multistage vehicles as well as procedures to determine the CO2 value for these multistage vehicles; technical elements, administrative and documentation requirements for emission type-approval, checks and inspections and market surveillance checks, as well as reporting obligations, in-service conformity and conformity of production checks; methods and tests to (i) measure exhaust emissions in the lab and on the road, including random and worst-case RDE test cycles, the use of portable emissions measurement systems for verifying real driving emissions, and idle emissions, (ii) determine the CO2 emissions, fuel and energy consumption, the electric range and engine power of a motor vehicle, (iii) provide specifications for gear shift indicator (GSI) (iv) determine the impact of O3, O4 trailers on the CO2 , fuel and energy consumption, electric range and engine power of a motor vehicle, (iv) measure crankcase emissions, evaporative emissions, brake emissions, (v) evaluate compliance with minimum performance requirements of battery durability, (vi) assess the in-service conformity of engines and vehicles; compliance thresholds and performance requirements, as well as (vii) test and methods to ensure performance of sensors (OBD and OBM); (viii) methods to ensure and assess security measures; specification and characteristics of driver warning systems and inducement methods and to assess their correct operation; (ix) methods to assess the correct operation, effectiveness, regeneration and durability of original and replacement pollution control systems; (x) methods to ensure and assess security measures including vulnerability analysis and tampering protection; (xi) methods to assess the correct functioning of types approved under specific EURO7 designations; (xii) criteria for emission type-approvals for small and ultra-small volume manufacturers; (xiii) checks and test procedures for multistage vehicles; (xiv) performance requirements for test equipment; (xv) specification of reference fuels; and (xvi) methods for assessing the absence of defeat devices and defeat strategies; (xvii) to measure tyre abrasion, as well as (xviii) EVP format, data and method of communication of the EVP data. Those powers should be exercised in accordance with Regulation (EU) No 182/2011 of the European Parliament and of the Council 50 .
(22) In order to amend or supplement, as appropriate, non-essential elements of this Regulation, the power to adopt acts in accordance with Article 290 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union should be delegated to the Commission in respect of test conditions based on data collected when testing Euro 7 vehicles, brakes or tyres; test requirements, in particular taking into account technical progress and data collected when testing Euro 7 vehicles; introducing vehicle options and designations based on innovative technologies for manufacturers but also setting out brake particle emission limits and abrasion limits for tyre types as well as minimum performance requirements of batteries and durability multipliers based on data collected when testing Euro 7 vehicles and setting out definitions and special rules for small volume manufacturers for vehicles of categories M2, M3, N2, N3, It is of particular importance that the Commission carry out appropriate consultations during its preparatory work, including at expert level, and that those consultations be conducted in accordance with the principles laid down in the Interinstitutional Agreement of 13 April 2016 on Better Law-Making 51 . In particular, in order to ensure equal participation in the preparation of delegated acts, the European Parliament and the Council receive all documents at the same time as Member States' experts, and their experts systematically have access to meetings of Commission expert groups dealing with the preparation of delegated acts.
(23) In the interest of clarity, rationality and simplification, since the rules on emission type-approval of motor vehicles and engines, and of systems, components and separate technical units intended for such vehicles are updated and all contained in this Regulation, the existing Regulations (EC) No 595/2009 and (EC) No 715/2007 should be repealed and replaced by this Regulation.
(24) Whenever the measures provided for in this Regulation entail the processing of personal data, they should be carried out in accordance with Regulations (EU) 2016/679 of the European Parliament and of the Council 52 and Regulation (EC) No 45/2001 of the European Parliament and of the Council 53 , as well as the national implementing measures thereto.
(25) It is important to grant Member States, national type-approval authorities and economic operators enough time to prepare for the application of the new rules introduced by this Regulation. The date of application should therefore be deferred. While for light duty vehicles the date of application should be as soon as technically possible, for heavy duty vehicles and trailers the date of application may be further delayed by two years, since the transition to zero-emission vehicles will be longer for heavy duty vehicles.
(26) Since the objectives of this Regulation, namely to lay down harmonised rules on the administrative and technical requirements for the type-approval of vehicles of categories M and N, and of systems, components and separate technical units, and on market surveillance of such vehicles, systems, components and separate technical units, with respect to emissions cannot be sufficiently achieved by the Member States, but can rather, by reason of their scale and effects, be better achieved at Union level, the Union may adopt measures in accordance with the principle of subsidiarity as set out in Article 5 of the Treaty on European Union. In accordance with the principle of proportionality, as set out in that Article, this Regulation does not go beyond what is necessary in order to achieve those objectives.