The new Euro 7 emissions standard advances under doubts

The employers of manufacturers ACEA warns that the reduction of 5% of NOX will have a “marginal” global impact if the oldest park is not renewed

The new European regulation of pollutant emissions for Euro 7 vehicles advances with the horizon of 2026, although with many doubts about its usefulness, according to car manufacturers. The greater demand in the reduction of gases “will have a marginal impact” and slow on nitrogen oxide (NOx) emissions, according to the European employer ACEA.

The path started by the European Union with the introduction of limits on exhaust emissions from vehicles for the first time in 1992 and since then has been tightening its standards. The latest, Euro 6, was introduced in 2014 and replaced in 2017 by Euro 6D, which was updated in 2020, and a new update, Euro 6e, will arrive in 2022. In 2026 the new Euro 7 standard will arrive.

Euro 7 proposal

On November 9, the European Commission is expected to publish its proposal for Euro 7, which will contemplate stricter scenarios and limit NOx and particulate emissions to zero. “Today, emissions measured on the road by portable emission measurement systems are at a barely measurable level,” ACEA said.

However, according to ACEA’s calculations, the new Euro 7 regulation will reduce NOx emissions from road transport “by less than an additional 5%” for cars and vans compared to Euro 6D levels and by approximately 2% for trucks. However, compliance with this requirement will force manufacturers to make significant investments in propulsion technology such as combustion engines that have an expiration date in 2035 with the ban on the sale of gasoline and diesel cars.

Renewal of the old fleet

“Any impact of Euro 7 will take several years to be felt, meaning it will start to be felt when an increasing number of zero-emission vehicles hit the market due to_CO2 (carbon dioxide) regulations. This means that, without addressing the older fleet, Euro 7 will have a marginal impact on NOx emissions from road transport.”

According to the manufacturers, “recent studies have shown that fleet renewal with the latest Euro 6 vehicles, together with the electrification of new vehicles, would lead to an 80% reduction in NOx emissions from road transport by 2035 (compared to 2020).”

Source: Global Car