PURPOSE: to provide new emission standards to reduce CO₂ emissions from new heavy-duty vehicles (HDV) and contribute to the shift to zero-emission mobility in the broader context of increased EU climate ambition by 2030 and EU climate neutrality by 2050.
PROPOSED ACT: Regulation of the European Parliament and of the Council.
ROLE OF THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT: the European Parliament decides in accordance with the ordinary legislative procedure and on an equal footing with the Council.
BACKGROUND: the heavy-duty vehicles (HDVs) CO2 Standards Regulation (EU) 2019/1242 was adopted and entered into force in 2019. It sets new binding CO2 targets starting to apply from the year 2025 onwards. An evaluation of the effective application of these provisions is not possible at this stage. However, a revision is necessary in order to bring the Regulation in line with the ambitions of the European Green Deal and the strengthened emission reduction targets of the European Climate Law.
Heavy-duty vehicles, such as trucks, city buses and long-distance buses, are responsible for more than 25% of GHG emissions from road transport in the EU and account for over 6% of total EU GHG emissions. These emissions continue to increase, especially in freight transport. This upward curve is mainly driven by growing road transport demand, which is expected to keep increasing in the future.
Therefore, stronger CO2 emission standards for heavy-duty vehicles are key to drive down CO2 emissions in the sector and improve air quality. The Commission's proposal will strengthen the CO2 standards from 2030 onwards and extend the scope to almost all vehicles with certified CO2 emissions, to help reach the EU's commitment to reach climate neutrality by 2050.
CONTENT: the Commission is proposing to revise Regulation (EU) 2019/1242 setting CO2 performance standards for heavy-duty vehicles (HDVs). The proposal will ensure that CO2 emissions from heavy-duty vehicles are reduced, will provide benefits for transport operators and users in terms of air quality and reduction of energy consumption, and will strengthen the technological and innovation leadership of the automotive value chain.
Subject matter and objectives
The new proposal lays down the requirements for the reporting of CO₂emissions from and fuel consumption of new heavy-duty vehicles registered in the Union.
Its specific objectives are to:
- reduce CO2 emissions from HDV, cost-effectively, in line with the EU climate goals, while contributing to improve EU energy security;
- provide benefits for European transport operators and users, most of which are SMEs, resulting from wider deployment of more energy-efficient vehicles;
- strengthen the technological and innovation leadership industry in the EU by channelling investments into zero-emission technologies.
Scope
The proposal expands the scope of application of the Regulation to include trailers, including now trailers, urban buses, coaches and other types of lorries. Vehicles designed and constructed or adapted for use by civil protection, fire services and forces responsible for maintaining public order are not subject to the CO2emissions targets.
Manufacturers who produce less than 100 vehicles per year are also exempt from the CO₂ emissions targets.
CO2 emission targets
The new proposal lays down how much the specific CO₂ emissions of the Union fleet of new heavy-duty motor vehicles should be reduced in certain years and defines how such targets are allocated to the HDV sub-groups.
More specifically, the average CO2 emissions of the Union fleet of new heavy-duty motor vehicles, other than special purpose, off-road, off-road special purpose, and vocational vehicles such as mobile cranes, forestry or agricultural vehicles, should be reduced by the following percentages compared to the average CO2 emissions of the reporting period of the year 2019:
- 45% from 1 January 2030;
- 65% from 1 January 2035;
- 90% from 1 January 2040 onwards.
New city buses in the EU will all have to be zero emissions (100% share of zero-emission vehicles) as of 2030.
It will be for manufacturers to decide which technologies they use to achieve these targets, e.g. electrification, hydrogen fuel cells or hydrogen in internal combustion vehicles.
The zero- and low-emission incentive scheme
The proposal amends the Regulation to end the zero- and low-emission incentive scheme in 2029. This scheme will end in 2029 as it is no longer considered necessary after that time as an incentive to promote the market entrance of zero-emission vehicles.
Monitoring and reporting
The proposal sets out new obligations for Member States to monitor and report certain data on the new heavy-duty vehicles. Manufacturers and other entities are obliged to monitor and report certain data on the new heavy-duty vehicles.
New provisions have been included concerning the obligation for the Commission to keep and update a central register and for it to monitor the results of on-road verification tests.
Review
The proposal suggested a review of the proposed Regulation in 2028.