Euro 7: Council and Parliament strike provisional deal on emissions limits

The Council and the European Parliament reached a provisional agreement on a regulation for the type-approval of motor vehicles and engines, and of the systems, components and separate technical units intended for such vehicles, with respect to their emissions and battery durability.

The new regulation sets more adequate rules for vehicle emissions and aims to further lower air pollutant emissions from road transport, and for the first time it covers cars, vans, and heavy-duty vehicles in one single legal act.

The provisional agreement reached today will retain the Euro 6 emissions limits for cars and vans but reduce the limits for buses and lorries. It also introduces limits for particles emitted by brakes (in electric vehicles in particular) and lifetime requirements.

With Euro 7 we aim to reduce road vehicle emissions, not only from exhaust, but also from brakes or tyres. At the same time, we aim to help our industry make the big leap to near-zero emissions vehicles by 2035.

Jordi Hereu i Boher, Spanish minister for industry and tourism

A regulation for all kind of vehicles

The Euro 7 regulation establishes rules for the exhaust gas emissions of road vehicles, but also for other types of emissions such as tyre abrasion and brake particle emissions. It also sets limits for battery durability. The new legislation replaces the previously separate emissions rules for cars and vans (Euro 6) and lorries and buses (Euro VI). The Euro 7 standard rules bring emissions limits for both light and heavy-duty vehicles, i.e., cars, vans, buses, and lorries under a single set of rules.

Exhaust emission limits

The provisional agreement reached today maintains the existing Euro 6 exhaust emission limits for cars and vans. However, the agreement limits the emission of solid particles with a diameter starting from 10 nm (PN10), instead of 23 nm as in Euro 6. This improvement reflects the latest developments in the United Nations Economic Commission for Europe (UNECE). 

Exhaust emission for buses and trucks

In the case of heavy-duty buses and trucks, the deal reached today establishes more stringent limits  for various pollutants, including for pollutants that were not regulated in Euro VI, such as nitrous oxide (N₂O).

Limits for braking emissions

The compromise text agreed by the co-legislators includes, for cars and vans, a specific limit of 3 mg/km in the standard driving cycle for pure electric vehicles and 7 mg/km for all the rest of powertrains. Specific limits for heavy vans are included in the agreement, namely 5 mg/km for pure electric vehicles and 11 mg/km for other powertrains.

Lifetime requirements

The co-legislators introduced stricter lifetime requirements for all vehicles in terms of both mileage and lifetimes; that now goes up to 200 000 km or 10 years for cars and vans.

Application dates

The deal foresees different dates of application after the regulation enters into force:

• 30 months for new types of cars and vans, and 42 months for new vehicles
• 48 months for new types of buses, trucks and trailers, and 60 months for new vehicles
• 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, trucks, and trailers.

Background

The Euro 7 regulation, which is part of the Commission’s 2020 Sustainable and Smart Mobility Strategy and the 2021 Zero-Pollution Action Plan, was presented by the Commission on 10 November 2022.The Council adopted its position or ‘general approach’ on 25 September 2023.

On 19 April 2023 the European Parliament and the Council adopted Regulation (EU) 2023/851 to strengthen the CO₂ emission performance standards for new passenger cars and new light commercial vehicles that sets a 100% reduction target for both cars and vans from 2035 onwards. While industry is preparing for this change, which means that new combustion cars and vans will be banned in the internal market, they will still be available until 2035. Other internal combustion vehicles (trucks, buses, and other heavy-duty vehicles) will continue to be produced after that date. The Euro7 rules will cover the emissions of cars and vans until that date, while other rules contained in the regulation (concerning brakes, tyres, and battery life, for instance) will continue to apply to new cleaner cars and vans after 2035.   

Next steps

The provisional agreement reached with the European Parliament now needs to be endorsed and formally adopted by both institutions.