ACEA says 2025 target date for Euro 7/VII no longer feasible

The ambitious timing for the EU’s new vehicle emission standards, Euro 7/VII, which was proposed by the European Automobile Manufacturers Association (ACEA) in June 2021 is no longer feasible, according to the organization representing Europe’s 16 major car, truck, van and bus makers. 

ACEA initially suggested a target date of September 1, 2025 for new types and September 1, 2026 for all new registrations for Euro 7 (Light-Duty Vehicles) and December 31, 2025 for new types and December 31, 2026 for all new registrations for Euro VII (Heavy-Duty Vehicles).

However, since June 2021, the European Commission has delayed the adoption date for Euro 7/VII from Q4 2021 to April 5, 2022.

Further, discussions on passenger car and van CO2 targets have started, with a significant hardening in the level of ambition expected, ACEA said.

Additionally, “there is still no clear indication from the Commission of what the Euro 7/VII proposals will look like,” since the Advisory Group on Vehicle Emission Standards (AGVES) process closed in April 2021. The advisory group was created by joining all the relevant expert groups working on emission legislation, in order to provide technical advice to the European Commission for the development of the post-Euro 6/VI emission standards for motor vehicles.

“We call on the European Commission to consider the nature of new Euro 7/VII regulations in the context of the massive transition our industry is going through to deliver carbon-neutral mobility,” ACEA said.

“If Euro 7/VII is more complex than it needs to be, then more time will be needed and this will start to encroach on OEMs’ de-fossilisation plans and could completely change the way they approach Euro 7/VII for ICE vehicles compared to an earlier timetable,” said ACEA’s Director of Emissions & Fuels, Paul Greening, in an interview with Infineum Insight.

The need for Euro7/VII should be assessed against what the existing measures will deliver for improved air quality to determine if a new regulation is needed to close any gap, or other measures might be more proportional, he said.

“I see some concern that Euro 7/VII could be used as a tool to encourage OEMs to move away from ICE towards electrification. Vehicle electrification is a solution for road transport the current Commission is pushing on all fronts within the ‘Fit for 55 package’ adopted in July this year [2021] and now under discussion between the Council and European Parliament. As an industry we must be able to allocate financial and engineering resources to de-fossilisation and CO2 reduction.”

“It is important to find a sensible approach to Euro 7/VII because although it may well be seen by some as a secondary matter, it could also end up being a complex and costly diversion,” Greening told Infineum Insight.

In its June 2021 proposal, ACEA said that while normally industry would insist on a four-year minimum lead time to develop new hardware, it could accept a three-year lead time for Euro 7/VII.

Further, that there should be no further amendments for five years, from when Euro 7/VII becomes mandatory, “to give industry mandatory stability”, as well as no further amendments to Euro 6/VI.