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Euro 7 standard HGVs could cost €4,000 more than EU estimate, German Transport ministry warns

According to the German Press Agency, Germany's Federal Ministry of Transport has found that costs for Euro 7 classified HGVs could be €2,500-€4,000 higher than previously estimated by the EU Commission.

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Pölös Zsófia

Pölös Zsófia

Journalist Trans.info

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14.02.2023

According to estimates by the Federal Ministry of Transport the costs for the new Euro 7 emissions standard are likely to be far higher than those stated by the EU Commission.

The news comes after the German Press Agency in Berlin requested more insight into the topic. Experts from the ministry are reported to have calculated the additional expense for a mid-range or luxury car to be up to €400, with light, diesel- powered commercial vehicles costing up to €900, a ministry spokesman confirmed.

Af for heavy goods vehicles, the difference could be much more painful; additional costs could end up being between €2,500 and €4,000, states the German Press Agency.

The reason for the additional expenses is that to meet the standards, manufacturers will have to invest in improved catalytic converters and new braking systems, the article explains.

Growing concerns about proposed Euro VII regulation

According to the European Commission’s proposal published in November 2022, the date for the entry into force of the new Regulation would be 1 July 2025 for new light-duty vehicles (cars and vans), and 1 July 2027 for new heavy-duty vehicles (lorries and buses).

However, both the standards and the timing of the introduction have been widely criticised by the industry in the last couple of months.

The German automobile association was one of the first professional organisations that expressed its doubts about the implementation of the new requirements, saying the standards cannot be implemented by July 2025 for passenger cars. It also believes it is technologically almost impossible to implement Euro 7 for heavy commercial vehicles by July 2027.

“The proposal published today by the EU Commission is not based on balance and feasibility. It rather sets unrealistic extreme goals. For passenger cars and light commercial vehicles, the limit reductions are nominally lower, but the timing of the implementation is impossible to fulfil. The development and approval of an appropriate drive with a lead time of only one year after the expected completion of the delegated acts is simply not feasible. The EU Commission is aware of these facts, but they were apparently deliberately ignored. One thing is clear: we urgently need improvements so that the decision makes sense for everyone,” said the association’s president, Hildegard Müller, back in November 2022.

“We are concerned that the recent proposal for a Euro VII regulation on pollutant emissions carries a major risk of slowing down the transition to climate neutrality” warned Martin Lundstedt, the newly re-elected chairman of the Commercial Vehicle Board of the European Automobile Manufacturers’ Association, in the middle of January.

“Recent studies, which take account of our ambitious decarbonisation trajectories, have shown Euro VII will only provide very marginal additional benefits to air quality, which will easily be dwarfed by even slightly higher fleet renewal ambitions,” explained Lundstedt, who is not only the president of the aforementioned board, but also the President & CEO of Volvo Group.

Also, the European Association of Automobile Manufacturers (ACEA) questioned the benefits of the newly proposed Euro standards:

Sectoral organisations had to opportunity to provide feedback on the proposed standards until 9th February, and the discussion of the proposals is yet to come.

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