As part of the European Green Deal and the EU’s circular economy action plan for 2030, the European Commission is proposing new rules to increase the circularity of the automotive sector, its sustainability and the resource-efficient management of end-of-life vehicles.
The regulation it proposed on Thursday 13 July will impose requirements on the industry covering the whole life cycle of cars, from design and production to the recycling of scrap cars.
The stated aim is threefold: to accelerate the sector’s transition towards circularity by reducing its environmental footprint, to boost the recycling industry in Europe and to develop a market for secondary raw materials, thereby promoting the EU’s strategic autonomy.
This is a significant challenge as the automotive industry is one of the biggest consumers of primary raw materials such as steel, aluminium, copper and plastics, but it uses few recycled materials, as the Commission points out.
This future legally binding regulation will replace two European directives: - directive 2000/53/EC on end-of-life vehicles (ELV), which restricts the use of certain hazardous substances and is regularly updated (see EUROPE 13015/17); - directive 2005/64/EC on the type-approval of motor vehicles with regard to their reusability, recyclability and recoverability.
It follows the ‘life cycle’ approach adopted for the EU regulation on batteries and battery waste – the first emblematic piece of circular economy regulation, which has just been formally adopted (see EUROPE 13219/22).
Car manufacturers would be required to provide clear and detailed instructions to dismantlers on how to replace and remove parts and components during the use and end-of-life phase of a vehicle.
Recycled content. At least 25% of the plastic used to build a new vehicle will have to come from recycling, 25% of which should come from end-of-life vehicles.
Extended producer responsibility. As in the proposal for a regulation on packaging and packaging waste (see EUROPE 13176/6, 13143/7), the proposed regulation will strengthen extended producer responsibility systems through harmonised rules to ensure the financial contribution of producers to compulsory waste treatment operations.
More controls. To combat the disappearance of vehicles, the Commission is also proposing more inspections, digital tracking of end-of-life vehicles throughout the EU based on the interoperability of national vehicle registration systems, a better distinction between old and end-of-life cars, more fines for infringements and a ban on the export of second-hand vehicles that are not roadworthy.
Just the beginning. These rules would gradually be extended to vehicles other than cars, such as motorbikes, lorries and buses, ensuring that end-of-life vehicles are dealt with appropriately.
The annex to the regulation sets out the relevant criteria for determining whether a used vehicle is an end-of-life vehicle.
The Commission expects these measures to result in an annual reduction of 12.3 million tonnes of CO2 emissions by 2035, a better valorisation of 5.4 million tonnes of materials and increased recovery of essential raw materials.
The EU institution also estimates that the new rules should generate net income of €1.8 billion by 2035, creating additional jobs and increasing revenue streams for the waste management and recycling industry.
In 2021, an evaluation of the two directives currently in force showed that considerable improvements were needed to stimulate the automotive sector’s transition to a circular economy.
See the proposed regulation: https://aeur.eu/f/829
See its annexes: https://aeur.eu/f/82a
See the impact assessment: https://aeur.eu/f/82b (Original version in French by Aminata Niang)