On Tuesday 16 December, the European Commission will present a legislative package designed to support the European automotive sector. This package will include an omnibus proposal to simplify legislation, which Agence Europe has obtained. The principle is to make targeted amendments to a series of texts relating to the sector, in order to simplify and streamline certain provisions and procedures.
Accelerating the uptake of small, affordable electric vehicles. As announced in September (see EUROPE 13706/6), the European Commission is seeking to remedy the shortage of small, affordable electric vehicles on the European market. By 2024, 70% of battery-electric vehicle sales will be large cars and SUVs.
“This comes along with a general trend of rising prices of vehicles across the EU, putting access to individual vehicle ownership progressively out of reach for many middle-class households”, notes the EU institution.
The European Commission will propose adding a definition of a small electric car in motor vehicle legislation, that can be used for targeted measures in EU legislation and by Member States. This would bring simplification to the task for businesses, strengthen the business case for building small affordable electric cars profitably in Europe and reduce the price for consumers.
This measure will be accompanied by other targeted regulatory initiatives, such as longer transition periods for new requirements, targeted incentives in CO2vehicle emission standards, or fiscal and non-fiscal incentives.
Encourage the adoption of electric light commercial vehicles. Because of their batteries, electric light commercial vehicles are heavier than internal combustion engine vehicles, which weigh less than 3.5 tonnes. Electric vehicles are therefore subject to the rules on driving times and rest times, which require the installation and use of a tachograph and speed limitation devices.
The European Commission is proposing to increase the minimum weight above which these requirements will be compulsory to a weight of 4.25 tonnes. This issue was also taken into account in the recent revision of the European directive on driving licences (see EUROPE 13760/34).
Reduce the administrative burden associated with Euro 7 emissions tests. Adopted in spring 2024 (see EUROPE 13370/31), the Euro 7 regulation stipulates that the methods used to measure pollutant emissions must reflect those laid down in the Euro 6 regulation. However, whereas the Euro 6 standard set specific – and significantly higher – emission limits for a laboratory test at low-temperature, the Euro 7 regulation does not contain dedicated emission limits for that specific test procedure.
In its proposal, the European Commission considers that the requirement to comply with the general emission limits under such a laboratory test at low temperature runs counter to the intention of the regulation and increases the regulatory burden on vehicle manufacturers and national type approval authorities, without bringing any benefit in terms of environmental performance.
It therefore suggests reducing the number of laboratory tests during type approval, making greater use of virtual testing and using risk assessment practices to determine how ex ante testing can best be combined with on-board monitoring.
Avoiding market fragmentation. As battery electric vehicle’s technology is evolving rapidly and the penetration of electric vehicles on the market is increasing, the European Commission stresses that “interoperability between vehicles, the charging infrastructure and the electricity grid is becoming increasingly critical”. It therefore believes that “a harmonised approach to interoperability – at EU level – is essential to avoid fragmentation of certain technical requirements which are currently being developed outside of the vehicle type-approval framework”.
For example, the regulation setting mandatory noise limit values for different categories of vehicles does not include a mechanism for updating the requirements in line with developments at United Nations level. This has led to the creation of a parallel set of rules for obtaining motor vehicle type-approval, with potential loopholes and inconsistencies for the automotive industry, national type-approval and market surveillance authorities. The European Commission is proposing simply to align itself with the requirements of the United Nations.
Read the European Commission’s proposal: https://aeur.eu/f/k0c
And read the annex to it: https://aeur.eu/f/k0d (Original version in French by Anne Damiani)