Euro 7, new tightening on emissions from the Commission. What changes and who puffs
The EU executive has had its say on the new Euro 7 standards which will also concern electric cars, not just diesel and petrol engines. However, the entire industry is already talking about the 'boomerang effect' and vehicles that will be more expensive. Environmentalists are also furious: "Gift to the automotive lobby"
Awaited by environmentalists, feared by manufacturers, the EU Commission's proposals on emission limits and the new Euro 7 standards were finally published. And they have already displeased everyone, both the builders and those pushing for rigorous laws capable of improving air quality. The new package arrives, needless to deny it, in a particularly difficult period for the automotive world, between war, chip crisis, lack of raw materials, investments in future electric mobility, but also for consumers, given that the increase in he inflation erodes purchasing power and certainly does not encourage you to change cars, which could become even more expensive precisely to meet future European requirements.
WHAT THE NEW EURO 7 STANDARDS PROVIDE
The European Commission proposal aimed at reducing air pollution caused by new motor vehicles sold in the 27 EU member countries foresees that, starting from 2035, Euro 7 will reduce NOx emissions from cars and vans by 35% compared to Euro 6 and by 56% compared to Euro VI for buses and trucks.
The biggest change compared to what we have seen so far is that the new legislation expands its sphere of intervention to include not only cars and vans, but also coaches and heavy commercial vehicles because the Commission's objective is to reduce the environmental impact of the entire road transport sector, considered responsible for 39% of nitrogen oxide emissions in 2018 (47% in urban areas) and 11% of PM2.5 and PM10. The world's first Euro 7 package of standards will regulate ultra-fine particles down to 10 nanometres, particulate matter generated by brakes and also the life of batteries.
The polluting particles from the tailpipe will be lowered by 13% by cars and vans and by 39% by buses and trucks. We also intervene on the particles emitted by the friction of car brakes; will be reduced by 27%. In fact, over the years there has been a curious paradox: according to more and more scientific research, the second major source of aerosol pollution in the Old Continent continues to be traffic. This despite the fact that vehicle emissions in Europe have been strictly regulated since the 1990s, but evidently very little has been done on the production of pollutants due to road dust, tire wear, brake wear and road wear.
THE EURO 7 LIMITS ALSO APPLY TO ELECTRIC CARS
This last detail is not insignificant. Electric cars do not emit fine particles from the tailpipe, but brake like internal combustion cars. So even battery-powered vehicles still cause brake pollution and microplastics from tyres.
Euro 7 standards are fuel and technology neutral, setting the same limits regardless of whether the vehicle uses petrol, diesel, electric drivetrains or alternative fuels. As for endothermic engines, today the limits for nitrogen oxides are 60 mg/km for petrol engines and 80 for diesel: with the new legislation, the threshold is 60 for both types of fuel.
DATES OF ENTRY INTO FORCE
According to the Commission proposal, the date of entry into force of the new regulation is 1 July 2025 for new light-duty vehicles (cars and vans) and 1 July 2027 for new heavy-duty vehicles (trucks and buses). Limited exceptions apply to vehicles built by small volume manufacturers to address specific technological constraints.
LEGISLATIVE ROADMAP
The proposal will now have to be discussed between the EU Council and Parliament to replace the previously separate emission standards for cars and vans (Euro 6) and trucks and buses (Euro VI). The new limits do not involve carbon dioxide emissions for a specific reason: with the Fit for 55 package, Europe has already decided to totally reduce CO2 for cars and vans by 2035.
THE IMPACT ON CONSUMERS
“In defining the new rules, the Commission has thoroughly analyzed the impact of the standards on the accessibility of mobility, especially in the light of the current increase in inflation. The expected cost increases in relation to the current situation represent only a small fraction of the total vehicle price, ie between 90 and 150 euros for cars and vans and around 2700 euros for trucks and buses. However, the Commission still believes that the health benefits produced by less air pollution "significantly outweigh these costs for producers, consumers and authorities".
ALL THE PUFFS AGAINST EURO 7
For Thierry Breton , commissioner for the single market, he defines the proposal as "balanced and necessary to protect the climate". Despite the continuous corrections that may seem very strong to most, in 2050, according to Brussels, it is expected that over 20% of cars and vans and more than half of the heaviest vehicles on the roads will continue to emit pollutants from the tailpipe.
The automotive world, on the other hand, seems to have a very different opinion. The European manufacturers' association Acea has "serious concerns" regarding the European Commission's proposal on the new Euro 7 standards on polluting emissions. Already with the current Euro 6/VI standards, the EU "has the most complete and rigorous standards for emissions pollutants (such as NOx and PM) in the world. Exhaust gas emissions are at a barely measurable level thanks to cutting-edge vehicle technology”, is the position of the Association, according to which “the new Community proposal risks slowing down the transition to zero emissions in transport”.
Acea also criticizes the roadmap decided unilaterally by the EU executive, without taking into account the needs of the industry: "The Euro 7/VII legislative package will probably not be ready before mid-2024, especially considering the long list of additional tests that it covers,” claims the Builders' Association. “The proposed implementation dates – July 2025 for cars and vans and July 2027 for heavy-duty vehicles – are unrealistic given the huge number of vehicle models and variants that need to be developed, engineered, tested and homologated before then . The Euro 7/VII standard therefore risks being very complex and costly”.
According to chairman Oliver Zipse who is also CEO of BMW. “The automotive industry takes its role of reducing both CO2 and polluting emissions very seriously, but unfortunately, the environmental benefit of the Commission's proposal is very limited, while it heavily increases the cost of vehicles”. Soon came the social twitter of Martin Sander , since the beginning of this year chairman of the board of directors of the German Ford-Werke GmbH and responsible for the automotive business in Europe: “Disappointed by the Euro 7 standard proposed for internal combustion engines. Let's stop diverting resources towards a technology of the past and instead invest in zero emissions"
According to Martin Lundstedt , number 1 of the Volvo Group: “To comply with Euro VII, manufacturers of vans and trucks will have to divert significant financial and engineering resources from electric and fuel cell vehicles to those with internal combustion engines. This will severely impact our transition to zero emission vehicles. It's not good for the climate, or for people's health, or for industry. Policy makers – he accused – should focus on rules that accelerate fleet renewal, giving priority to investments in zero-emission vehicles that will have a much greater impact on air quality and reduced CO2 emissions.
The German Auto Manufacturers Association, the VDA, is also furious for which “the development and approval of an appropriate path with a deadline of just one year from the expected completion of the delegated acts is absolutely not possible.” For Aecc, the association of catalyst producers, "It would be a pity if delays in the adoption process were to lead to delays in the application of the rules and in the contribution to improving air quality". Judgment of lights and lights by Clepa, which brings together the supply chain at European level. In the note she talks about a "step forward" but she is rather perplexed by the fact that the technical details to allow the development and testing of new technologies have not yet been disclosed. In short, everyone agrees on the fact that the community law arrived late and now wants to make up for lost time on the skin of the car industry.
The Commission seems to have succeeded in disappointing everyone, even environmentalists. Indeed, the association of green NGOs Transport & Environment accuses the community executive of "having given priority to the profit of the manufacturers and has failed in the historic objective of reducing toxic pollution from cars and commercial vehicles, supporting the car lobbies for green washing 100 million cars that will be sold in the ten years leading up to 2035. It is therefore crucial that the European Parliament strengthens these incredibly weak standards or simply rejects them.”
This is a machine translation from Italian language of a post published on Start Magazine at the URL https://www.startmag.it/smartcity/euro-7-dalla-commissione-nuova-stretta-sulle-emissioni-cosa-cambia-e-chi-sbuffa/ on Mon, 14 Nov 2022 06:13:55 +0000.