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Summaries of EU Legislation

    Emission limits and type-approval rules for non-road mobile machinery

    Date of last review:
    28/05/2021
    Initial creation date:
    25/01/2017
    Summarised document(s):
    Author:
    Publications Office of the European Union
    Responsible entity(ies):
    Directorate-General for Internal Market, Industry, Entrepreneurship and SMEs

    Emission limits and type-approval rules for non-road mobile machinery

     

    SUMMARY OF:

    Regulation (EU) 2016/1628 — requirements for gaseous and particulate pollutant emission limits for internal combustion engines

    WHAT IS THE AIM OF THE REGULATION?

    It sets out pollutant emission limits for engines of different power ranges and applications for non-road mobile machinery (NRMM) (see below) with the aim of gradually reducing emissions and phasing out equipment with the most polluting engines.

    KEY POINTS

    Non-road mobile machinery (NRMM) covers a very wide variety of machinery typically used off the road, such as:

    • small gardening and handheld equipment (lawnmowers, chainsaws, etc.);
    • construction machinery (excavators, loaders, bulldozers, etc.);
    • agricultural and farming machinery (harvesters, cultivators, etc.);
    • railcars, locomotives and inland waterway vessels.

    The regulation does not apply to engines for a number of specific applications, including those for:

    • stationary machinery;
    • sea-going vessels that have a valid maritime navigation or safety certificate;
    • recreational vehicles, except snowmobiles, all-terrain vehicles and side-by-side vehicles;
    • vehicles and machinery exclusively used or intended to be exclusively used in competitions.

    Type-approval

    • The regulation sets out the procedures engine manufacturers have to follow in order to obtain type-approval* of their engines.
    • Type-approval is a requirement for manufacturers to place their engines on the European Union (EU) market.
    • Manufacturers must submit a separate application for each engine type or engine family* to the approval authority of an EU Member State.
    • Type-approvals are issued for an unlimited duration.
    • The EU may decide that international regulations or non-EU country regulations are equivalent to the conditions and procedures for EU type-approval.
    • National authorities are required to cooperate efficiently with each other and with the European Commission, and to exchange data and information relating to EU type-approvals through the Internal Market Information System (IMI).

    Exhaust emissions

    • The design, construction and assembly of engine types and engine families must comply with the requirements set out in the regulation.
    • Engine types and engine families must not exceed the exhaust emission limits from the dates set out in the regulation for placing those engines on market.

    Postponement of certain transitional provisions in Regulation (EU) 2016/1628

    • The disruption caused by the COVID-19 outbreak has led to delays in the supply chain of critical parts and components, leaving manufacturers with stocks of engines and unfinished products. This means that many engine and machinery manufacturers will not be able to meet the deadlines set out in Regulation (EU) 2016/1628 without sustaining serious economic damage.
    • Regulation (EU) 2020/1040 amends Regulation (EU) 2016/1628 and extends the deadlines by 12 months for producing and placing on the market non-road mobile machinery and tractors equipped with transition engines, which comply with earlier standards. This extension does not apply to transition engines covered by the dates specified in the second, third and fourth subparagraphs of Article 58(5) of Regulation (EU) 2016/1628.

    FROM WHEN DOES THE REGULATION APPLY?

    It has applied since 1 January 2017.

    BACKGROUND

    For more information, see:

    KEY TERMS

    Type-approval: the procedure whereby an approval authority certifies that a type of vehicle, system, component or separate technical unit satisfies certain legal requirements.
    Engine family: manufacturer’s grouping of engine types which, through their design, have similar exhaust emission characteristics, and respect the applicable emission limit values.

    MAIN DOCUMENT

    Regulation (EU) 2016/1628 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 14 September 2016 on requirements relating to gaseous and particulate pollutant emission limits and type-approval for internal combustion engines for non-road mobile machinery, amending Regulations (EU) No 1024/2012 and (EU) No 167/2013, and amending and repealing Directive 97/68/EC (OJ L 252, 16.9.2016, pp. 53-117)

    Successive amendments to Regulation (EU) 2016/1628 have been incorporated into the original text. This consolidated version is of documentary value only.

    RELATED DOCUMENTS

    Regulation (EU) No 1024/2012 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 25 October 2012 on administrative cooperation through the Internal Market Information System and repealing Commission Decision 2008/49/EC (‘the IMI Regulation’) (OJ L 316, 14.11.2012, pp. 1-11)

    See consolidated version.

    Regulation (EU) No 167/2013 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 5 February 2013 on the approval and market surveillance of agricultural and forestry vehicles (OJ L 60, 2.3.2013, pp. 1-51)

    See consolidated version.

    last update 28.05.2021

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