The veto of Germany and other countries to the proposal approved by the European Commission to prohibit the sale of new internal combustion cars from 2035 has forced them to opt for an intermediate alternative: copies of this type may continue to be marketed but only fueled with synthetic fuels efuel. Although a solution has been agreed in this area, the sector continues to work to respond to another, closer front, that of the new Euro7 emissions regulations.
It is expected that this anti-pollution regulation for passenger cars and vans will come into force in July 2025, which will replace the current Euro 6d. Two years later, in July 2027, it would apply to trucks and buses.
The proposal for the Euro 7 standard, presented last autumn by the European Commission, provides for new cuts in pollutant and particulate emissions to improve air quality. Although we still have to wait for the different bodies of the European Union to debate and approve said regulations, numerous voices from the automobile industry have criticized the text and have called for its modification.
The new Euro 7 aims to simplify the rules on emissions and unify criteria that, with the Euro 6 regulations, are differentiated by type of vehicle. Thus, the proposed limits are the same for all motor vehicles, from cars and vans to buses and trucks.
In addition, they want to ensure that the emissions cap is met for longer than before. To do this, the conformity of the cars will be checked until they reach 200,000 kilometers and 10 years of age, a figure that doubles the 100,000 kilometers and 5 years currently foreseen.
Likewise, the new regulation is neutral from the point of view of fuel and technology. It sets the same limits regardless of whether the vehicle uses gasoline, diesel, electric drive trains or alternative fuels. In other words, if until now a limit of 60 milligrams per kilometer (mg/km) of nitrogen oxide (NOx) emissions was set for gasoline cars and 80 mg/km for diesel, the proposal proposes that it be limited to a maximum of 60 mg/km for all cases.
In the absence of its final approval, the text of the Euro 7 regulation contemplates a relevant and pioneering novelty: the regulation of emissions emanating from the brakes and tires of all vehicles. In this way, additional limits are established to control particle emissions from brakes and microplastic emissions from tires, an aspect that especially affects electric cars.
Given this context, there are several actors in the automotive sector who have expressed their discomfort with this proposal since it was presented, both at a national and European level. During the opening ceremony of the La Movilidad de Tod@s conference, Wayne Griffiths, president of the Spanish manufacturers’ association Anfac, warned of the negative consequences that the application of the planned Euro 7 may have.
Griffiths, who is also president of Seat and Cupra, classified the proposal as “unrealistic” in terms of application deadlines because, in his opinion, they are “technically and financially unfeasible.” According to Anfac, Euro 7 will have a greater impact on smaller and medium-sized combustion cars, which are the ones that are traditionally manufactured in the country. “Most of the vehicles we manufacture in Spain would disappear if it comes into force in July 2025. We are at real risk of closing factories and losing thousands of jobs,” he said.
And it is that the manufacturers defend that the investment that they must carry out to comply with these limits will mean a modification of the production processes and, consequently, an increase in the final price of each vehicle. “About 2,000 euros more on average,” they calculate. In addition, they state that all this money cannot be invested in the development of the electric vehicle.
Important voices such as Luca de Meo (CEO of Renault), Oliver Blume (CEO of Volkswagen) or Carlos Tavares (CEO of the Stellantis group), have recently shown a similar position. They ask to review the proposal of the new Euro 7, since, if not, there is a high risk that some factories have to close.
In this line, Tavares warned that the electric car is not yet an immediate environmental alternative due to its high price. Also from Faconauto, the employers’ association of dealers, they insist that “forced” electrification is not the solution, and they regret the increase in the price of cars that the entry into force of the Euro7 regulations will mean.
In fact, the President of the Government, Pedro Sánchez, promised a few days ago with the national automotive sector to work during the Spanish presidency of the European Union (in the second half of 2023) on an “optimal and realistic” solution on the regulations Euro 7. With this, it is expected to achieve the “compatibility of investments for the transition to the zero-emission vehicle with the limits on polluting emissions”.
