ACEA voices ‘serious concerns’ over new EU emissions proposal

Brussels – The European Automobile Manufacturers’ Association (ACEA) has voiced “serious concerns” about the European Commission’s proposal for new pollutant emission standards for cars and vans (Euro 7) and trucks and buses (Euro VII).

Issued 10 Nov, the EC's proposed regulation aims to extend emission rules, for the first time, from exhaust emissions to also cover particles from brakes and tires.

The package is being billed as an important element of the EU’s Green Deal ambitions, towards achieving climate neutrality and improving air quality.

In a statement 10 Nov, ACEA said that the current Euro 6/VI rules offered “the most comprehensive and stringent standards for pollutant emissions (such as NOx and PM) in the world.”

Exhaust emissions, it went on to say, are “at a barely measurable level” due to latest advances in vehicle technology.

“Unfortunately, the environmental benefit of the Commission’s proposal is very limited, whereas it heavily increases the cost of vehicles,” said Oliver Zipse, ACEA president and CEO of BMW.

According to Zipse, the new proposal focuses on extreme driving conditions that have little real-life relevance.

In particular, ACEA argued that the Euro VII proposal is “particularly harsh” for trucks.

“It completely neglects the rapidly accelerating shift to zero-emission vehicles, and also ignores the effect of future CO2 targets for heavy-duty vehicles,” the automotive association said.

“To comply with Euro VII, truck makers will have to move substantial engineering and financial resources from battery and fuel-cell electric vehicles back to the internal combustion engine,” explained Martin Lundstedt, CEO of Volvo Group.

The move, said the chair of ACEA commercial vehicle board, will “severely impact” the industry’s transition to zero-emission vehicles.

“It is not good for the climate, not good for people’s health and not good for the industry,” Lundstedt said.

In order to reduce CO2 emissions, the ACEA official called on policy makers to focus on measures that accelerate fleet renewal, prioritising investments in zero-emission vehicles.

ACEA said it did not expect the Euro 7/VII legislative package to be ready before mid-end 2024, “especially considering the long list of additional tests it covers.”

As a result, the Brussels association said that the proposed implementation dates – July 2025 for cars and vans and July 2027 for heavy-duty vehicles – were "unrealistic", as the process involved "a huge number of" vehicle models and variants to be developed, engineered, tested and type approved.

“Euro 7/VII therefore risks being very complex and costly,” ACEA cautioned.