Brussels wants better air in the cities. Therefore, the Euro 6 emission standard is to be tightened. This time the EU is focusing on things that cause emissions even from electric cars.
The so-called brake dust occurs during braking due to the wear of brake pads and brake discs and consists mainly of fine dust that is harmful to the environment and health.
From 2035, only cars that are climate-neutral may be newly registered in the EU. Negotiators from the Council of 27 EU Member States and the EU Parliament recently reached a provisional agreement on this. Reducing the average CO2– Fleet emissions to zero has the de facto consequence that combustion engines are no longer permitted. Exceptions are provided for manufacturers of small series, and in Germany certain circles are still hoping that the use of so-called e-fuels will delay the end of the combustion engine a little longer.
From the exhaust to the tires
In addition to carbon dioxide, the EU regulates other greenhouse gases and pollutants. These are regulated in the Euro 6 emissions standard. On Thursday, the EU Commission now the follow-up, Euro 7, presented. But what does this regulate if there will soon be no more new combustion engines on the market anyway?
In fact, in comparison with previous specifications for passenger cars, the previous limit values for nitrogen oxides (NOx), for example, will be tightened up rather slightly. For example, a simplification for diesel vehicles will be lifted in the future. While 60 milligrams of NOx per kilometer were previously planned for petrol cars and 80 milligrams for diesel vehicles, the lower limit will apply to both from 2025. Brussels hopes that by 2035 NOx emissions from cars will fall by 35 percent compared to Euro 6.
The corresponding limit values will be tightened from mid-2027 for trucks and buses, which will no longer have a separate regulation (previously: Euro VI) in the future. By 2035, nitrogen oxide emissions are to be reduced by 56 percent compared to the old regulation and 39 percent fewer particles will come out of the exhaust.
Above all, the Commission wants better air in the cities. This is to be ensured by a bundle of regulations that goes beyond traditional emissions. For example, Brussels would like to introduce upper limits for pollutants that arise in connection with the abrasion of tires and brakes for the first time worldwide.
This is referred to as non-exhaust emissions. Brake dust, tire wear and abrasion from road surfaces result in coarse and fine dust particles ending up in the atmosphere, water and soil. In contrast to the emission regulations, the corresponding limit values are also relevant for electric vehicles.
Equally important for Tesla & Co. is that for the first time Euro-7 also contains specifications for the batteries installed in electric vehicles. For example, after 100,000 kilometers driven or after five years, whichever mark is reached first, the battery should still show at least 80 percent of its capacity.
Gases not previously recorded are also regulated. These include, for example, ammonia in passenger cars, formaldehyde and for trucks nitrous oxide.
The tests of exhaust emissions, which have been criticized in particular in connection with the VW diesel scandal, are now to be converted even more broadly to the new real driving emissions method. This is based on more realistic application scenarios.
And finally, Euro 7 also stipulates that emissions must remain at a low level for much longer than before. According to Euro 6, vehicles must meet the requirements for the first 100,000 kilometers driven or for five years. The new rules provide for twice that, i.e. 200,000 kilometers or ten years.
It’s too little for the Greens and too much for the auto industry
Next, the 27 EU member states and the EU Parliament discuss the bill. The reactions on Thursday suggest that nobody is really happy with the proposed set of rules at the moment.
Jens Gieseke was particularly bothered by the stricter limits for tailpipe emissions. For the EU parliamentarian of the CDU, it is questionable whether the proposal is even necessary from an “environmental point of view”. After all, the biggest challenge for air quality is the existing fleet, he writes.
Gieseke also criticizes that a tightening of the test conditions ultimately corresponds to a tightening of the limit values through the back door. That robs the industry of planning security and is unacceptable. And he points out that Euro 7 is ten times more stringent for trucks than Euro 6. Fulfilling this requirement costs a lot of money and makes logistics and thus all supply chains that depend on road transport more expensive.
What is too much for the CDU MP is not enough for the Greens. “Weak Euro 7 proposal risks decades of damage to health and the environment,” they captioned their comment on the bill. Michael Bloss of the Greens was quoted as saying in a statement that the Commission was once again giving in to the car lobby.
According to Bloss, the EU Commission is presenting a reform of the emissions standards two years late, which ignores its own environmental goals and the recommendations of its own panel of experts. Although the standards for trucks would be raised, the limits for passenger cars would remain at the Euro 6 level of 2012.
For its part, the European Association of the Auto Industry (ACEA) reported “serious concerns”. The EU already has the strictest emissions regulations in the world, writes the ACEA in a statement. Unfortunately, ACEA President Oliver Zipse is quoted as saying that the environmental benefit of the proposal is very limited, while it greatly increases the cost of the vehicles. The CEO of BMW criticizes that Brussels is concentrating on extreme driving conditions in the tests, which in reality hardly play a role.
The industry association is also of the opinion that the template is “particularly hard” for the trucks. In order to meet the requirements, manufacturers would have to shift considerable technical and financial resources away from battery and fuel cell vehicles and back to combustion engines, writes the ACEA.
The association is convinced that the particles caused by brakes and tires will soon outnumber those that come from the exhaust. As soon as robust test methods are available, these emissions should be the focus of Euro 7 and the tire type approval regulation, writes ACEA.