EU Parliament’s ENVI Committee adopts position on Euro 7 regulation

13 October 2023

The European Parliament’s Committee on the Environment, Public Health and Food Safety (ENVI) adopted its position on the proposed Euro 7 regulation for the type-approval of motor vehicles and engines, with 52 votes in favor, 32 against, and one abstention.

The report—scheduled to be adopted during the November 2023 plenary sitting of the Parliament—will constitute Parliament’s negotiating position with EU governments on the final shape of the legislation.

MEPs agreed with the levels proposed by the EU Commission for pollutant emissions—including NOx, PM, CO, and NH₃—for passenger cars and proposed an additional breakdown of emissions into three categories for light commercial vehicles based on their weight. The adopted text also proposes stricter limits for exhaust emissions by buses and heavy-duty vehicles, including levels set for real driving emissions.

Specific application time frames have been included for various Euro 7 provisions, linked to the entry into force of all secondary legislation foreseen—namely after 36 months (and as of 1 July 2030 for small volume manufacturers) for light vehicles and after 60 months (and as of 1 July 2031 for small volume manufacturers) for heavy-duty vehicles. The regulations currently in force (Euro 6/VI) would be repealed on 1 July 2030 for cars and vans, and on 1 July 2031 for buses and trucks (compared to 2025 and 2027 respectively as proposed by the Commission).

MEPs want to align the EU’s calculation methodologies and limits for brake particle emission and tire abrasion rate with international standards currently being developed by the United Nations Economic Commission for Europe. These rules would apply to all vehicles, including electric ones. The text also includes higher minimum performance requirements for battery durability for cars and vans than those proposed by the Commission.

Other proposed measures include:

• An up-to-date environmental vehicle passport (EVP) containing information such as fuel consumption, battery health, emissions limits, periodic technical inspections results;
• Stricter lifetime requirements for vehicles, engines and pollution control systems;
• Obligation to install on-board systems for monitoring several parameters such as excess exhaust emissions, real-world fuel and energy consumption, and traction battery health;
• Specific rules for small and ultra-small volume manufacturers.

Source: EU Parliament