The European Council has adopted the Euro 7 regulation, which lays down rules on emission limits for road vehicles and battery durability. This is the last step in the decision-making procedure.
The text covers cars, vans and heavy-duty vehicles in one single legal act and aims to further lower air pollutant emissions from exhaust fumes and brakes.
The new regulation also establishes stricter lifetime requirements.
The Euro 7 regulation establishes rules for the exhaust emissions of road vehicles, but also for other types of emissions such as tyre abrasion and brake particle emissions. It also introduces requirements for battery durability.
For cars and vans, the regulation keeps the existing Euro 6 exhaust emission limits but introduces stricter requirements for solid particles.
For heavy-duty buses and lorries, the regulation imposes more stringent limits for various pollutants, including some that have not been regulated until now, such as nitrous oxide (N2O).
In addition, Euro 7 introduces stricter limits for particle emissions produced when braking, with specific limits for electric vehicles.
The new rules also include stricter lifetime requirements for all vehicles in terms of both mileage and lifetime.
After being signed by the President of the European Parliament and the President of the Council, the regulation will be published in the Official Journal of the European Union and will enter into force on the twentieth day following its publication.
The dates of application of the regulation will depend on the kind of vehicle concerned:
- 30 months for new types of cars and vans, and 42 months for new cars and vans
- 48 months for new types of buses, trucks and trailers, and 60 months for new buses, lorries and trailers
- 30 months for new systems, components or separate technical units to be fitted in cars and vans, and 48 months for those to be fitted in buses, lorries and trailers