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CO2 emission performance standards for passenger cars and light duty vehicles
The Regulation setting CO2 emission performance standards for new passenger cars and for new light commercial vehicles contributes to the achievement of the EU's commitments under the Paris Agreement, reduces fuel consumption costs for consumers and strengthens the competitiveness of EU automotive industry and stimulates employment. The regulation was proposed by the Commission under the Fit for 55 package in July 2021 and published in the Official Journal of the European Union in April 2023.
Targets
For new passenger cars, the average emissions of the new passenger car EU wide-fleet is of 95 gCO2/km from 1st January 2020 onwards. Until the 31st December 2024, the regulation will be further complemented with additional measures to achieve a reduction of 10 gCO2/km. From 1st January 2025, the target is to be reduced by 15%. From 1st January 2030, a reduction of 55% on the initial target is applicable. Lastly from 1st January 2035, a reduction of 100% to the target is applied, meaning that all new passenger cars should be zero emissions.
For light commercial vehicles, the initial target is of 147 gCO2/km, with a reduction of 15% from 1st January 2025 and a reduction of 50% from 1st January 2030. As with passenger cars, from 1st January 2035, all new light commercial vehicles should be zero emissions.
Penalties
The new regulation maintains existing rules on penalties as non-compliant manufacturers must pay an 'excess emissions premium', corresponding to €95 for each gram of CO2 emission above its specific emissions target and per newly registered vehicle. CO2 emissions, as well as fuel or energy consumption are tested for real-world representativeness by the Commission, following the WLTP standard.
Incentive mechanisms
The revised regulation retains the support mechanism to encourage the sale of new zero and low emission LDVs. This mechanism may be adapted to meet expected sales trends. From 2025 to 2029, the ZLEV benchmark (Zero Low Emission Vehicle) is set at 25% for the sales of new cars, and 17% for new vans, and as of 2030 the incentive will be removed.
By end of 2025, the Commission shall evaluate the possibility of developing a common methodology for the assessment and reporting of the full life-cycle CO2 emissions of cars and vans.
Eco-innovation and life cycle
Current rules cap eco-innovation credits at 7 g CO2/km. The new Regulation will reduce that cap in line with the target levels to ensure a balanced proportion of the level of that cap in relation to the average specific emissions of CO2 of manufacturers. The total contribution of those technologies to reducing the average specific emissions of CO2 of a manufacturer may be up to:
- 7g CO2/km until 2024;
- 6g CO2/km from 2025 until 2029;
- 4g CO2/km from 2030 until and including 2034.
Also, new rules mandate the Commission to publish by end of 2025 a report setting out a methodology for the assessment and the consistent data reporting of the full life-cycle CO2 emissions of LDVs that are placed on the Union market.
Pooling, exemptions and derogations
The provisions on pooling between manufacturers are the same as under the previous Regulations. Pooling between car and van manufacturers is not possible.
Derogations apply for manufacturers responsible for less than 1 000 new vehicle registrations, whereas the derogation for manufacturers responsible for between 1 000 and 10 000 cars or between 1 000 and 22 000 vans will end in 2035.
Review
The Regulation will be reviewed in 2026 and will potentially fully recognise e-fuels as carbon neutral fuels, thus making them one of the three eligible zero emission technologies.
What's in it for hydrogen?
The regulation incentivises manufacturers to integrate an increasing share of low- and zero-emission vehicles in their fleet to meet their average CO2 emission reduction targets. The first due date, by which manufacturers had to reach their individual emission reduction target was 2021. This means that strong incentives to lead decarbonisation efforts are already implemented in order for manufacturers to be compliant in 2021.
This legislation bolsters the integration of ZLEV in manufacturers' fleets and could enable their scaling up and rolling out. As part of other ZLEV types, FCEVs (Fuel Cell Electric Vehicle) and other hydrogen fuelled cars and vans will benefit from these development opportunities. Although it will face competition from BEV (Battery Electric Vehicle) and PHEV (Plug-in Hybrid Electric Vehicle), FCEV provide for an adapted and cost-effective solution especially for long-range and intensive use cases.
Links to the original document and additional information:
Regulation (EU) 2019/631 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 17 April 2019 setting CO2 emission performance standards for new passenger cars and for new light commercial vehicles
