PURPOSE: to approve stricter CO2 emission standards for heavy duty vehicles.
LEGISLATIVE ACT: Regulation (EU) 2024/1610 of the European Parliament and of the Council amending Regulation (EU) 2019/1242 as regards strengthening the CO2 emission performance standards for new heavy-duty vehicles and integrating reporting obligations, amending Regulation (EU) 2018/858 and repealing Regulation (EU) 2018/956.
CONTENT: this regulation sets CO2 emissions performance standards for new heavy-duty vehicles. Those standards contribute to achieving the Union’s climate-neutrality objective and the intermediate Union climate targets, Member States’ targets of reducing their greenhouse gas emissions, and the objectives of the Paris Agreement, as well as to ensuring the proper functioning of the internal market.
The updated rules will further reduce CO2 emissions from road transport and will introduce new targets for 2030, 2035 and 2040.
The regulation also lays down requirements for the reporting of CO2 emissions from, and fuel consumption of, new heavy-duty vehicles registered in the Union.
Broader scope
Under the revised rules, the scope of the existing regulation will be expanded to make almost all new heavy-duty vehicles with certified CO2 emissions – including smaller trucks, urban buses, coaches and trailers – subject to emission reduction targets. In addition, it adds a subgroup of vehicles to include extra-heavy combination lorry (EHCs).
CO2 emissions reduction targets
CO2 emissions from large trucks (including vocational vehicles, such as garbage trucks, tippers or concrete mixers) and buses should be reduced by 15 % for the report periods of the years 2025 to 2029; 45 % for 2030 to 2034; 65 % for 2035 to 2039; 90 % for 2040 onwards.
These targets will apply to medium lorries, heavy trucks weighing over 7.5t and coaches, as well as to corresponding vocational vehicles from 2035 onwards.
Emissions reduction targets are also set for trailers (7.5%) and semi-trailers (10%), starting from 2040.
A derogation from the CO₂ reduction targets set out in the Regulation will apply to small manufacturers as well as to vehicles used by civil protection, firefighting or public order services or emergency medical services. Heavy-duty vehicles registered for use by the armed forces are not subject to the requirements of this regulation if a Member State decides not to report them.
For the purposes of calculating manufacturers' average specific CO2 emissions, individual heavy commercial vehicles may be transferred between manufacturers, provided that certain conditions are met.
Urban buses
The new rules introduce a 100% zero-emission target for new urban buses by 2035, with an intermediate target of 90% for this category by 2030. Inter-urban buses will be exempt from this target, as they will be regarded as coaches for the purposes of measuring emissions reduction.
Provisions are introduced to ensure sustainable and resilient supply chains for urban buses through public procurement procedures. Contracting authorities/entities are encouraged to use an environmental sustainability criterion as an award criterion or as a technical specification in their public procurement procedures covered by this regulation.
Measures to support the transition to zero-emission heavy-duty vehicles on the Union market
The Commission will present:
- by 30 June 2025, a report which considers the need to facilitate the uptake on the Union market of heavy-duty vehicles which are retrofitted to become zero-emission heavy-duty vehicles, including by way of harmonised rules;
- by 30 June 2027, a report which contains an analysis of the potential need for and impact of initiatives to increase the share of zero-emission heavy-duty motor vehicles owned or leased by large fleet operators.
Central register for data on heavy-duty vehicles
The Commission will keep a central register for the data on heavy-duty vehicles reported pursuant to the regulation. The central register will be publicly available.
The Commission will monitor, where available, the results of on-road tests performed within the framework of Regulation (EC) No 595/2009 to verify the CO2 emissions and fuel consumption of new heavy-duty vehicles.
Review
The Commission will review the effectiveness and impact of the amended Regulation in 2027 and present a report to the European Parliament and the Council.
In this report, the Commission will assess in particular:
- the number of registrations of zero-emission heavy-duty vehicles in the Member States;
- the progress made in the deployment of public and private alternative fuel recharging and refuelling infrastructure for heavy duty vehicles covered by this Regulation;
- the impact on employment, in particular on micro, small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs);
- the possibility of developing a common methodology at EU level for the harmonised assessment and reporting of CO2 emissions data throughout the life cycle of new heavy-duty vehicles placed on the EU market.
ENTRY INTO FORCE: 26.6.2024.
APPLICATION: from 1.7.2024.