Europe could back down on extremely strict environmental regulations for new cars – report

The upcoming Euro 7 emissions regulations, which had drawn the ire of various European nations and car manufacturers, could be weakened.

Reuters European states have reportedly largely agreed on a compromise put forward by Spain on tough new emissions rules.

The Euro 7 standards, which apply equally to petrol and diesel vehicles, should reduce nitrogen oxide emissions (NOx) by 35 percent and exhaust particulates by 13 percent compared to the previous Euro 6 regulations.

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Automotive News Europe reports that Euro 7 standards also target non-CO2 pollutants. These include carbon monoxide and nitrogen oxides, which are produced by brakes and tires.

According to reports, the new proposal has not yet been finalized. Reuters reports that the compromise still needs to be agreed at an upcoming EU ministerial meeting, after which a final proposal can be discussed in Parliament and the European Commission.

If implemented, the Euro 7 regulations would apply to cars from mid-2025 and to trucks and buses from mid-2027.

Tougher Euro 7 standards come as the sale of new CO2-emitting light vehicles will be banned in Europe and the UK in 2035; The United Kingdom recently announced this Postponing the date of its ban from 2030 to 2035.

Automotive News Europe reports that eight EU countries – including France and Italy – have done so previously expressed objection on the Euro 7 standards being discussed.

The opposing nations argued that automakers were already under pressure to comply with the EU’s planned ban on CO2-emitting light vehicles in 2035.

Renault and Stellantis have also reportedly pushed back against the stricter Euro 7 standards, claiming the rules will discourage the industry from switching to fully electric vehicles and drive up prices for small cars.

Skoda has it too previously expressed concernsThe chairman of the Skoda works council, Jaroslav Povšík, told the Skoda Trade Unionist magazine that the Euro 7 standard would make the production and homologation of models like this unaffordable Kamiq, Scala And Fabia.

As Czech media outlet tyden.cz reports, Euro 7 standards would raise the price of Skoda’s small city cars to the starting price specified by the brand “unsaleable” and “not acceptable to customers”.

Skoda had previously indicated that it intended to defy the rules and work with Daniela Cavallo, the head of the Volkswagen works council, to lobby the European Commission against them.

Australia currently requires newly registered models first manufactured from November 1, 2013 and light vehicles manufactured from November 1, 2016 to comply with ADR/79 regulations based on Euro-5 -Emission standards based.

The Euro 5 emissions standard was first introduced in Europe more than a decade ago and has since been replaced in Europe by the Euro 6 regulations.

Since the introduction of the Euro 1 standard in 1992, the European Union has gradually tightened emissions limits.