This is the first report on the application of
Directive 2009/33/EC on the promotion of clean and energy-efficient
road transport vehicles, and on supporting actions taken by Member
States, as required by the Directive’s Article 10. This
so-called Clean Vehicle Directive aims at stimulating the market
for clean and energy-efficient vehicles, thus contributing in the
transport sector to the energy, climate and environment policies of
the EU. The deadline for transposition was set for 4 December
2010.
The report’s main conclusions are as
follows:
- Late transposition: Directive 2009/33/EC has only been in force for a
short period of time, with implementation in a number of Member
States being delayed considerably. The late transposition of the
Clean Vehicle Directive by most Member States has limited the
experience with this Directive to date and has therefore provided
challenges for the assessment of its impacts within the scope of
this monitoring report.
- Lack of reporting obligations on Member
States: the absence of reporting
obligations for Member States and the inconsistencies in the data
available have made the analysis difficult.
- Procurement: additional
guidance appears necessary for the application of the different
options of the Directive in order to take into account energy
consumption, CO2 and pollutant
emissions when procuring vehicles.
- Monetisation approach: there is also the need to support the still novel
monetisation approach - a methodology defined in the Directive for
calculating lifetime operational costs for energy consumption,
CO2 emissions, and pollutant emissions of vehicles. Member
States should provide this guidance, paying particular attention to
their relevant national legislation. Dedicated training for staff
responsible for implementing the relevant national legislation
should also be taken into account.
- Clean
Vehicle Portal: this portal, created
by the Commission in 2009, is considered a useful tool in
assisting public authorities with the procurement of clean and
energy efficient vehicles, and concerning the prevalence of the
experience acquired under this Directive. The Commission will
upgrade the Portal to respond to the expectations of public and
private procurers. Additionally, the functionality in relation to
the stimulation of joint procurement of clean and energy efficient
vehicles on the Portal will be improved, including the better
facilitation of close contacts between the relevant national and
regional authorities in the EU Member States and
beyond.
- Private customers: according to the report, more attention to private
customers could also enhance the impact of Directive
2009/33/EC, following the original objective of initially
addressing the public sector directly, and subsequently reaching
out to professional and private procurement.
- Increase awareness: various stakeholders, such as the EU industry
associations, could develop guidance, as the International
Association of Public Transport (UITP) has done, for their
respective members in order to increase awareness of this
Directive.
- European Electro-mobility Observatory
(EEO): this observatory, launched by
the Commission in December 2012, ensures the collection and
dissemination of key statistical data on electromobility (battery
electric and fuel cell electric vehicles) in a consistent manner by
regional and local authorities. The EEO should become the main
information platform of European regions on
electromobility, as well as provide information on how public
procurement at the local level influences the development of
electric vehicles or fuel cell electric vehicles market in
Europe.
2014 review of the Directive: in the next review of the Directive, scheduled for
2014, the Commission is planning to assess thoroughly the value
added of the Directive. In this context, it may consider the
possibility of simplifying the application of the Directive by
streamlining it. This could be done by narrowing choices on Member
State level, for example, by focussing on the simplest approach
with regard to calculations to be carried out. This would
prevent a possible fragmentation of the internal market
through different technological selections. It could then provide
better conditions for economies of scale for innovative vehicle
technologies through bundling demand within the internal
market. Clear reporting obligations could also be imposed upon the
Member States.