Reduction in CO₂ emissions of new passenger cars and of new light commercial vehicles

 

SUMMARY OF:

Regulation (EU) 2019/631 — setting CO₂ emission performance standards for new passenger cars and for new light commercial vehicles

WHAT IS THE AIM OF THIS REGULATION?

It aims to make road transport cleaner, to meet the EU’s greenhouse-gas-emission-reduction targets for 2021-2030 and to contribute to the goals of the Paris Agreement.

KEY POINTS

• The regulation sets out CO₂ emissions performance requirements for new passenger cars and for new light commercial vehicles (i.e. vans).
• These requirements will contribute to achieving the EU’s target of reducing, by 2030, its greenhouse gas emissions in the sectors not covered by the emissions trading system (ETS) by 30% compared to 2005.

Emission-reduction targets

• Compared to 2021, the regulation requires that the annual EU fleet-wide average CO₂ emissions from new cars and new vans be reduced:
  • by 15% for the period 2025-2029;
  • by 37.5% for new cars and 31% for new vans from 2030 onwards.
• The specific CO₂ emissions targets that manufacturers have to achieve each year are based on these EU fleet-wide targets, taking into account the average mass of their respective new vehicle fleets.
• Each year, the European Commission establishes the specific CO₂ emissions target for each manufacturer. It also determines their average emissions from the previous year in order to evaluate their performance in complying with these targets (for 2018, see Commission Implementing Decision (EU) 2020/1035).
• Manufacturers exceeding their specific emissions target will have to pay an excess-emission premium of €95 per g/km exceedance for each new vehicle registered.

Incentives for the uptake of zero- and low-emission vehicles (ZLEVs)

• Until 2022, passenger cars with CO₂ emissions of less than 50 g/km may be counted multiple times for calculating the average specific emissions of CO₂ of a manufacturer: as 2 cars in 2020, as 1.66 cars in 2021 and as 1.33 cars in 2022. A manufacturer may benefit from a maximum of 7.5 g/km of such ‘super-credits’ accumulated over those 3 years.
• The specific CO₂ emission target for a manufacturer will be relaxed if its share of ZLEVs (vehicles with emissions from 0 up to 50 g/km) registered in a given year exceeds the following benchmarks:
  • cars: 15% ZLEVs from 2025 on and 35% ZLEVs from 2030 on,
  • vans: 15% ZLEVs from 2025 on and 30% ZLEVs from 2030 on.
• For calculating the ZLEV share in a manufacturer’s fleet, an accounting rule applies. This gives a greater weight to ZLEVs with lower CO₂ emissions.

Derogations, pooling and eco-innovations

• These are measures that make it easier for manufacturers to meet their targets.
• The derogation for manufacturers registering between 10,000 and 300,000 passenger cars will cease to exist from 2029 on.

Robust emissions data

New rules aim to ensure the robustness and real-world representativeness of the emissions data recorded by requiring:

• authorities to verify that the CO₂ emissions and fuel consumption values recorded by the manufacturers in the conformity certificates correspond to the values of those vehicles when in service;
• the Commission to monitor the real-world CO₂ emissions and fuel or energy consumption data of vehicles.

Review

As announced in the European Green Deal and the 2030 climate target plan, the Commission will review the regulation by June 2021.

FROM WHEN DOES THE REGULATION APPLY?

It has applied since 1 January 2020.

BACKGROUND

For more information, see:

• Post-2020 CO₂ emission performance standards for cars and vans (European Commission).

MAIN DOCUMENT

Regulation (EU) 2019/631 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 17 April 2019 setting CO₂ emission performance standards for new passenger cars and for new light commercial vehicles, and repealing Regulations (EC) No 443/2009 and (EU) No 510/2011 (OJ L 111, 25.4.2019, pp. 13-53)

Successive amendments to Regulation (EU) 2019/631 have been incorporated into the original text. This consolidated version is of documentary value only.

RELATED DOCUMENTS

Regulation (EU) 2018/842 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 30 May 2018 on binding annual greenhouse gas emission reductions by Member States from 2021 to 2030 contributing to climate action to meet commitments under the Paris Agreement and amending Regulation (EU) No 525/2013 (OJ L 156, 19.6.2018, pp. 26-42)

Regulation (EU) 2018/858 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 30 May 2018 on the approval and market surveillance of motor vehicles and their trailers, and of systems, components and separate technical units intended for such vehicles, amending Regulations (EC) No 715/2007 and (EC) No 595/2009 and repealing Directive 2007/46/EC (OJ L 151, 14.6.2018, pp. 1-218)

Commission Regulation (EU) 2017/1151 of 1 June 2017 supplementing Regulation (EC) No 715/2007 of the European Parliament and of the Council on type-approval of motor vehicles with respect to emissions from light passenger and commercial vehicles (Euro 5 and Euro 6) and on access to vehicle repair and maintenance information, amending Directive 2007/46/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council, Commission Regulation (EC) No 692/2008 and Commission Regulation (EU) No 1230/2012 and repealing Commission Regulation (EC) No 692/2008 (OJ L 175, 7.7.2017, pp. 1-643)

See consolidated version.

Directive 2014/94/EU of the European Parliament and of the Council of 22 October 2014 on the deployment of alternative fuels infrastructure (OJ L 307, 28.10.2014, pp. 1-20)

See consolidated version.

Regulation (EC) No 715/2007 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 20 June 2007 on type approval of motor vehicles with respect to emissions from light passenger and commercial vehicles (Euro 5 and Euro 6) and on access to vehicle repair and maintenance information (OJ L 171, 29.6.2007, pp. 1-16)

See consolidated version.

last update 30.10.2020