VMs critical of EU's new Euro 7 pollution rules

Date: Friday 11 November 2022

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The European Union has proposed stricter emissions rules for the continent’s last generation of combustion engines, a move aimed at reducing particulate pollution in the continent’s cities.

The EU said the new rules for the Euro-7 generation of engines would further reduce by about a quarter the amount of nitrous oxides that diesel engines can emit. Nitrous oxides can damage the human respiratory tract, worsening conditions like lung infections and asthma and potentially causing chronic lung disease.

“Road transport is the largest source of air pollution in cities,” the EU said in a statement, adding that the new regulations will lead to a third less nitrous oxide emitted by 2035 than current rules allow. “The new Euro 7 standards will ensure cleaner vehicles on our roads and improve air quality, protecting the health of our citizens and the environment.”

Adoption of the rules, which requires approval from EU member states and the European Parliament, has been delayed several times amid wrangling over their contents. Automotive executives including Carlos Tavares, CEO of Stellantis, have argued the latest steps pose unnecessary burdens on the car industry and will slow the sector’s shift to electrification.

Nitrous-oxide emissions for petrol engines will remain the same, allowing them to emit 60 milligrams for every kilometre travelled. Diesel engines will also be restricted to that level, a more stringent rule than the 80 milligrams of nitrous oxides allowed under Euro-6 rules.

The proposed rules also set limits for particulate emissions from brakes and tyres that will also apply to electric vehicles. Studies have shown brake wear is one of the biggest sources of non-exhaust road traffic emissions in urban areas.

The proposal drew a largely negative reaction from lobbying groups and VMs.

The VM lobby group, ACEA, said Euro 7 the environmental benefit of the proposal is “very limited” compared with the increased cost for vehicles.

It called the proposed implementation dates of July 2025 for cars and July 2027 for heavy trucks “unrealistic, given the huge number of vehicle models and variants that need to be developed, engineered, tested and type approved before then.”

CLEPA, the association of automotive suppliers, said the proposal represented a significant step forward, but warned that technical details needed to be finalised as soon as possible to allow technologies to be developed and tested. It called for a lead time of at least 24 months for implementation after such legislation is approved.

Supporters of the rules argue that some vehicles going on sale between 2025 and 2035 will be sold in the second-hand market and run on the roads for decades. That means more stringent rules on particulate pollution could end up saving thousands of lives, they say.

The rules, part of the European Green Deal aimed at putting the continent’s economy on a sustainable footing, will develop stricter emissions standards for all petrol and diesel cars, vans, trucks and buses.

The EU reached a landmark deal recently to effectively ban new combustion-engine cars from 2035, forcing companies to overhaul their line-ups. The push poses risks to employment and vehicle affordability, EU Internal Market Commissioner Thierry Breton said last week, a signal that a delay in the policy may be possible in 2026.

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