Cars, vans and other vehicles on sale in the European Union through 2035 will need to emit fewer pollutants, according to new regulations from the European Commission proposed on Thursday, November 10, 2022.
The emission standards are to make combustion engine vehicles on the EU’s market “as clean as possible for as long as possible,” EU Internal Market Commissioner, Thierry Breton, said in a statement.
Termed the Euro 7 rules, the commission expects the standards to reduce nitrogen oxide emissions from cars by an estimated 35 per cent by 2035, and by more than 50 per cent for buses and trucks.
Euro 7 also include emissions from brakes and tyres, as well as that from exhaust pipes, with the aim of reducing harmful emissions like microplastics and other ultrafine particles.
Standards on tyres and brakes also apply to electric vehicles.
Pending approval, the commission said the new rules for cars and vans enter in force from 2025, and for heavier vehicles two years later.
The pollution regulations follow on from an EU agreement in October to ban the sale of vehicles with combustion engines in the bloc from 2035.
However, the commission wants to keep emission standards high for any new vehicles entering the market before then.
This is because more than 20 per cent of cars and vans and more than 50 per cent of heavier vehicles in circulation in the EU by 2050 will still emit exhaust emissions.
According to the commission, exposure to air pollution from road traffic caused around 70,000 premature deaths in the EU and Britain in 2018.
The European Parliament and the 27 EU member states must now scrutinise the proposal before the legislation enters into force.
