Euro-7 is getting closer. What is known about the new eco-standard and how it can affect the market?

In November of this year, the members of the European Parliament approved the levels of emissions of harmful substances for passenger cars proposed by the European Commission, and also proposed an additional division of permissible emissions into three categories for light commercial vehicles based on their weight — reports the Polish Institute for Car Market Research SAMAR. In addition, a proposal was voiced regarding stricter limits on emissions of exhaust gases measured in laboratory and real conditions for buses and trucks. The European Parliament also wants to align the EUʼs methodology for calculating and limiting particulate emissions from brakes and tire wear indicators to international standards currently being developed by the UN Economic Commission for Europe.

The European Parliament: managed to find a balance

Member of the European Parliament Oleksandr Vondra commented on the latest decisions of European government officials: "We managed to find a balance between environmental goals and the vital interests of producers. It would be counterproductive to implement an environmental policy that harms both European industry and citizens. Thanks to our compromise, we serve the interests of all parties involved and avoid extreme positions."

We would like to remind you that the discussions regarding the format of the latest Euro-7 eco-standard have been going on for a long time, and the main reason for the several postponement of the date of introduction of these requirements is the unrealistic and economic impracticality of their introduction in the opinion of automakers. That is why there are still ongoing discussions on softening the latest requirements to a level that would preserve the economic feasibility of production, would not lead to excessive complication of car power plants, and would not lead to a significant increase in their prices.

ACEA is a more realistic approach

This is what was said about the continuation of negotiations and the adoption of certain interim decisions in ACEA — the European Association of Automobile Manufacturers : "it should be recognized that the members of the European Parliament voted for a more realistic approach to the Euro-7 standard compared to what was proposed by the European Commission last year. The introduction of the Euro-7 standard still has a high price, moreover, at a rather critical moment of transformation of the industry. The point is that the Euro 7 standard is a significant investment for vehicle manufacturers in addition to their huge decarbonisation efforts," said Sigrid de Vries, CEO of ACEA. — “This is also taking place in an extremely complex geopolitical and economic context characterized by rapidly rising energy prices, supply chain shortfalls, inflationary pressures and weakening consumer demand. Europe needs a proportionate Euro-7 standard that balances environmental issues and industrial competitiveness," she emphasized.

CLEPA — Cost of implementation is no longer an issue

Representatives of the European Association of Automotive Parts CLEPA also note that the parliament adopted a more realistic approach to the Euro-7 standard. "We would welcome an agreement that would be guided by the position of the parliament regarding the limitations and conditions of testing. In addition, it will be very important to at least improve the implementation schedule together with the revision of the Air Quality Directive, which is being negotiated in parallel. Overall, the European Commissionʼs proposal will, with some caveats, stimulate further innovation by building on advanced vehicle technologies already available on the EU market. Given the current direction in which this regulation is moving, the expected cost of its implementation can no longer be seen as an issue," said Benjamin Krieger, Secretary General of CLEPA.

SDCM — no one will be happy with the compromise, but it will be a good compromise

Tomasz Benben, president of the Association of Distributors and Manufacturers of Automotive Parts SDCM, noted that the Euro-7 standard must remain realistic in terms of what is technologically achievable. "Too high a standard will make it impossible to meet the expectations of Brussels in a short period of time with a whole series of consequences. The proposed regulation will certainly affect the automotive industry throughout the EU, and we are not only talking about vehicle manufacturers and OEMs supplying their products, but also aftermarket suppliers. We already have the positions of all interested parties: the strict EC and the softer Council and Parliament. "During the tripartite negotiations, a compromise will be reached that probably no one will be entirely happy with — and thatʼs probably the sign of a good compromise," he adds.

Euro-7 is about everyone, not only DVZ

While the negotiations and discussions on Euro-7 continue, it is known that in addition to reducing the tolerances for the content of harmful substances in exhaust gases (as happened with all previous versions of "Euro"), the range of requirements for motor vehicle tests will be expanded, with the maximum approximation of them to real ones (not laboratory) operating conditions. Also, the new norms should regulate the permissible emissions of solid particles from brake mechanisms and microplastics from tires. The standard will also affect batteries for motor vehicles, regarding their minimum resource. That is, in fact, for the first time, environmental regulations will also affect electric transport. In general, it is proposed to double (relative to Euro-6) the resource during which the vehicle must meet the requirements without significant deviations — up to 200,000 km or up to 10 years of operation, whichever comes first.

Ukraine and Euro-7

As for the Ukrainian car market, now for the first registration of trucks, buses and new cars it is necessary that they meet the Euro-5 standard. Euro-2 is enough for passenger cars with mileage. The next change to these requirements is provided for in the legislation on January 1, 2025, when the Euro-6 eco-standard will be introduced for those vehicles that are currently subject to the minimum Euro-5 requirement.

While discussions about Euro-7 are still ongoing, these requirements could not be included in Ukrainian legislation. However, one way or another, after their introduction in the European Union, they will affect our market as well — first of all, new cars, except for manufacturers who will agree to produce individual batches of cars with the "old" standard, but as practice shows, there are very few of them. And later it will affect the secondary market. The extent to which the new regulations will ultimately affect car prices can only be predicted later, when all approvals will be made, the final texts of all documents will be published, and automakers will make their statements on this matter. Although it is already clear that any complication of the design always led only to its increase in price, which should probably be expected from the new Euro-7.

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