European emissions regulations watered down
EU detunes its EV-mandating CO2 emission regulations – and may skip them altogetherEurope has watered down its next full set of automotive emissions regulations to the point where they’ll be barely an advance on the existing rules.
The European Commission, the administrative arm of the European Union, has choked down the new rule set on the grounds that it was too expensive and difficult to meet.
Draft Euro 7 legislation had proposed to tighten the CO2 screws down even tighter than the EU6.5 regulations, which effectively mandated EVs across Europe’s new-vehicle fleet.
But that now won’t happen, with the draft legislation indicating that the regulations have gone from ruling out combustion-powered cars, SUVs and vans from 2035 to their emissions remaining at roughly the same level as in Euro 6 legislation.
The world’s global EV market has boomed on the back of China’s New Energy Vehicle legislation and Europe’s Euro 6 legislation, both of which reduced the mandated CO2 emissions so much that car-makers were forced to include EVs in their fleets.
It was expected that Euro 7 would mandate an even higher percentage of zero-emission vehicle sales, while the cost of producing ever-cleaner combustion-powered engines would be so high that it would make them premium-only technologies.
Environmental campaigners had hoped that this critical mass of zero- and low-emission technologies in Europe would trickle around the world, forcing car-makers to swamp the world’s markets with EVs to achieve economies of scale.
They went further than that, though. Due to be revealed on November 9, the Euro 7 rules have been developed for four years and were expected to cover EV battery durability, fine-particulate pollution, particles from tyres and brakes and newly governed emissions, like carbon monoxide and nitrogen oxides.
But the European automotive industry has lobbied hard to reduce its spending on development, citing the war in Ukraine, rising energy prices, the global chip crisis and a looming economic downturn as mitigating factors.
“In light of the current geopolitical and economic circumstance, a final review has been made,” said the European Commission’s introductory impact assessment into the draft Euro 7 rules.
“This puts unprecedented pressure on the automotive supply chain and raises affordability issues for consumers, in an overall context of high inflation.”
The legislation was slammed by some car-makers as irrelevant, with Stellantis CEO Carlos Tavares insisting the rules were pointless as they forced the industry to spend a lot of money and effort for only a short few years.
“From an industry perspective, we don't need Euro 7, as it will be drawing resources we should be spending on electrification,” Tavares said at the Paris motor show.
“Why use scarce resources for something for a short period of time? The industry doesn't need it, and it's counter-productive.”
Stellantis already plans to be 100 per cent electric in Europe by 2030, and has already provided electric cars for the Peugeot, Citroen, Opel, Vauxhall and Fiat brands.
The Euro 7 regulations have already been delayed several times and Tavares insists they should be skipped over altogether, because the European car industry is already technically prepared to switch to full EV production.
Another full rule set is being prepared for a post-combustion powered industry for 2035.
That situation is a far cry from the United States, where its Dare Forward 2030 plan demands Stellantis only reach 50 per cent EVs by 2030.
It plans to be carbon net neutral by 2038 (three years after BMW), while building five million EVs a year, spread over 75 different models.
But the watering down of Euro 7 is not being seen as a win by everybody.
“The auto industry lobby has fiercely opposed Euro 7,” said Anna Krajinska of the environmental lobbying organisation Transport & Environment.
“Now the Commission has caved into their demands. Car-makers’ profits are being prioritised over the health of millions of Europeans.”
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