EU Council and Parliament reach provisional agreement on Euro 7 regulation
18 December 2023
The European Council and the Parliament reached a provisional agreement on the proposed Euro 7 regulation for the type-approval of motor vehicles and engines. The negotiations were based on the respective Euro 7 positions adopted by the EU Council on 25 September 2023 and by the EU Parliament on 21 November 2023.
The new legislation replaces the previously separate emission standards for cars and vans (Euro 6) and trucks and buses (Euro VI). The Euro 7 standard rules bring emissions limits for both light- and heavy-duty vehicles, i.e., cars, vans, buses, and trucks under a single set of rules.
For light-duty vehicles (cars and vans), the provisional agreement will retain the Euro 6 emission limits. However, the agreement limits the emission of solid particles with a diameter starting from 10 nm (PN10), instead of 23 nm as in Euro 6. This improvement reflects the latest developments in the United Nations Economic Commission for Europe (UNECE), said the European Council in a press release.
The agreement adopts more stringent emission limits for heavy-duty vehicles (trucks and buses), including for pollutants that were not regulated under Euro VI, such as N2O. The emission test procedures for heavy-duty vehicles have been tightened as well. The details remain uncertain, as the agreed text has not yet been publicly released.
The Euro 7 regulation also introduces emission limits for particles from tire abrasion and brake particle emissions—including tire and brake emissions from electric vehicles—and sets limits for battery durability. The compromise text includes, for cars and vans, a specific braking emission limit of 3 mg/km in the standard driving cycle for pure electric vehicles and 7 mg/km for all the rest of powertrains. Braking emission limits for heavy vans are 5 mg/km for pure electric vehicles and 11 mg/km for other powertrains.
The co-legislators also introduced stricter lifetime requirements for all vehicles in terms of both mileage and lifetimes; that now goes up to 200,000 km or 10 years for cars and vans.
The deal foresees different dates of application after the Euro 7 regulation enters into force:
- 30 months for new types of cars and vans, and 42 months for new vehicles,
- 48 months for new types of buses, trucks and trailers, and 60 months for new vehicles,
- 30 months for new systems, components, or separate technical units to be fitted in cars and vans, and 48 months for those to be fitted in buses, trucks, and trailers.
The agreement still has to be formally approved by the Parliament and the Council.
Source: European Council