Common Position (EC) No 63/2003

adopted by the Council on 9 October 2003

with a view to the adoption of a Directive 2003/.../EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of ... amending Council Directives 70/156/EEC and 80/1268/EEC as regards the measurement of carbon dioxide emissions and fuel consumption of N1 vehicles

(2003/C 305 E/01)

(Text with EEA relevance)

THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT AND THE COUNCIL OF THE EUROPEAN UNION,

Having regard to the Treaty establishing the European Community, and in particular Article 95 thereof,

Having regard to the proposal from the Commission(1),

Having regard to the Opinion of the European Economic and Social Committee(2),

Acting in accordance with the procedure laid down in Article 251 of the Treaty(3),

Whereas:

(1) Council Directive 80/1268/EEC of 16 December 1980 relating to the carbon dioxide emissions and fuel consumption of motor vehicles(4) is one of the separate Directives under the type-approval procedure laid down by Council Directive 70/156/EEC of 6 February 1970 on the approximation of the laws of the Member States relating to the type-approval of motor vehicles and their trailers(5).

(2) The Communication from the Commission to the Council and the European Parliament on EU policies and measures to reduce greenhouse gas emissions: towards a European Climate Change Programme (ECCP), proposes an implementation strategy to reduce the emission of greenhouse gases, including measures in the transport sector. The Green paper "Towards a European strategy for the security of energy supply" likewise calls for efforts to improve fuel economy of motor vehicles.

(3) Under the Community strategy to reduce carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions from passenger cars, as outlined in the Communication from the Commission to the Council and the European Parliament - A community strategy to reduce CO2 emissions from passenger cars and improve fuel economy, the harmonised measurement methodology, as laid down in Directive 80/1268/EEC, has been used as a basic instrument. With a view to permitting subsequent measures to reduce fuel consumption and CO2 emissions in the sector of light commercial vehicles, it is necessary to extend the scope of that Directive to include vehicles of category N1 as well.

(4) As referred to in Decision No 1753/2000/EC of the European Parliament and the Council of 22 June 2000 establishing a scheme to monitor the average specific emissions of CO2 from new passenger cars(6), the Commission has carried out a study to investigate the possibilities and implications of a harmonised procedure for measuring the specific CO2 emissions from vehicles of category N1. In this respect, it is considered technically acceptable and most cost-effective to apply the existing emissions test of Council Directive 70/220/EEC of 20 March 1970 on the approximation of the laws of the Member States relating to measures to be taken against air pollution by emissions from motor vehicles(7), also for the measurement of fuel consumption and CO2 emissions for that category of vehicles.

(5) Many small volume manufacturers buy from suppliers engines which are type-approved with respect to emissions according to Council Directive 88/77/EEC of 3 December 1987 on the approximation of the laws of the Member States relating to the measures to be taken against the emissions of gaseous and particulate pollutants from compression ignition engines for use in vehicles, and the emission of gaseous pollutants from positive ignition engines fuelled with natural gas or liquefied petroleum gas for use in vehicles(8). A considerable number of those manufacturers do not have the necessary infrastructure or expertise to perform the exhaust or CO2 emissions testing. It is therefore necessary to grant an exemption for small volume manufacturers, since the additional costs they would have to incur in order to comply with this Directive would be disproportionately high.

(6) Those measures also have an impact on the Annexes to Directive 70/156/EEC.

(7) Directives 70/156/EEC and 80/1268/EEC should therefore be amended accordingly,

HAVE ADOPTED THIS DIRECTIVE:

Article 1

Directive 70/156/EEC is hereby amended as follows:

(a) Row 39 of Part I of Annex IV shall be replaced by the following:

">TABLE>"

(b) In the EC Certificate of Conformity for complete or completed vehicles of categories N1, N2 and N3 in Annex IX, part I, page 2, the following point shall be added:

"

>PIC FILE= "CE2003305EN.000201.TIF">"

Article 2

Annexes I and II to Directive 80/1268/EEC shall be amended as set out in the Annex to this Directive.

Article 3

No later than ...(9), the Commission shall:

(a) Present a study on the possibilities of obtaining representative CO2 emission and fuel consumption data for completed multi-stage vehicles and vehicles whose emissions are measured according to Directive 88/77/EEC in order to take into account the "cost-efficiency" aspects of these measurements;

(b) Present an evaluation of the vehicle family concept introduced in this Directive;

(c) If appropriate, present draft measures on the adaptation of this Directive to technical progress to the Committee established by Article 13 of Directive 70/156/EEC.

Article 4

Where a vehicle produced by a specialist coach builder falls within the criteria of one of the families of vehicles of the manufacturer of the base vehicle, the coach builder may use the data on fuel efficiency and CO2 production supplied by that manufacturer.

Article 5

1. With effect from ...(10) for vehicles of category N1, Member States may not, on grounds relating to CO2 emission or to fuel consumption:

(a) refuse, in respect of any given type of motor vehicle, to grant EC type-approval or national type-approval;

(b) prohibit the registration, sale or entry into service of vehicles pursuant to Article 7 of Directive 70/156/EEC;

if the CO2 emission and fuel consumption figures have been determined in accordance with the requirements of Directive 80/1268/EEC, as amended by this Directive.

2. With effect from 1 January 2005 for vehicles of category N1, Class I, and with effect from 1 January 2007 for vehicles of category N1, Class II and Class III, Member States:

(a) shall no longer grant EC type-approval pursuant to Article 4(1) of Directive 70/156/EEC, and

(b) shall refuse to grant national type-approval, except where the provisions of Article 8(2) of Directive 70/156/EEC are invoked,

if the CO2 emission and fuel consumption figures have not been determined in accordance with the requirements of Directive 80/1268/EEC, as amended by this Directive.

3. With effect from 1 January 2006 for vehicles of category N1, Class I, and with effect from 1 January 2008 for vehicles of category N1, Class II and Class III, Member States shall:

(a) consider certificates of conformity which accompany new vehicles pursuant to Directive 70/156/EEC to be no longer valid for the purpose of Article 7(1) of that Directive,

(b) refuse the registration, sale or entry into service of new vehicles which are not accompanied by a valid certificate of conformity pursuant to Directive 70/156/EEC, except where the provisions of Article 8(2) of that Directive are invoked,

if the CO2 emission and fuel consumption figures have not been determined in accordance with the requirements of Directive 80/1268/EEC, as amended by this Directive.

4. For multi-stage vehicles of category N1, the dates mentioned in paragraphs (2) and (3) shall be postponed by twelve months.

5. For the purposes of this Article:

- a vehicle of category N1, class I, means an N1 vehicle with a reference mass not exceeding 1305 kg.

- a vehicle of category N1, class II, means an N1 vehicle with a reference mass greater than 1305 kg, but not exceeding 1760 kg.

- a vehicle of category N1, class III, means an N1 vehicle with a reference mass in excess of 1760 kg.

Article 6

Member States shall bring into force the laws, regulations and administrative provisions necessary to comply with this Directive before ...(11). They shall forthwith inform the Commission thereof.

When Member States adopt these measures, they shall contain a reference to this Directive or be accompanied by such a reference on the occasion of their official publication. The methods of making such reference shall be laid down by the Member States.

Article 7

This Directive shall enter into force on the day of its publication in the Official Journal of the European Union.

Article 8

This Directive is addressed to the Member States.

Done at ...,

For the European Parliament

The President

For the Council

The President

(1) OJ C 51 E, 26.2.2002, p. 317.

(2) OJ C 125, 27.5.2002, p. 6.

(3) Opinion of the European Parliament of 24 September 2002 (OJ C 273 E, 14.11.2003, p. 74), Council Common Position of 9 October 2003 and Decision of the European Parliament of ... (not yet published in the Official Journal).

(4) OJ L 375, 31.12.1980, p. 36. Directive as last amended by Commission Directive 1999/100/EC (OJ L 334, 28.12.1999, p. 36).

(5) OJ L 42, 23.2.1970, p. 1. Directive as last amended by Commission Directive 2001/116/EC (OJ L 18, 21.1.2002, p. 1).

(6) OJ L 202, 10.8.2000, p. 1.

(7) OJ L 76, 6.4.1970, p. 1. Directive as last amended by Commission Directive 2002/80/EC (OJ L 291, 28.10.2002, p. 20).

(8) OJ L 36, 9.2.1988, p. 33. Directive as last amended by Commission Directive 2001/27/EC (OJ L 107, 18.4.2001, p. 10).

(9) Two years after the entry into force of this Directive.

(10) One year after the entry into force of this Directive.

(11) Twelve months after the entry into force of this Directive.

ANNEX

I. Annex I to Directive 80/1268/EEC is hereby amended as follows:1. Point 1 shall be replaced by the following:

1. SCOPE

This Directive applies to the measurement of carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions and fuel consumption of motor vehicles of category M1 and N1.

It does not apply to a type of N1 vehicle if both:

- the engine type fitted to that type of vehicle has received type-approval pursuant to Directive 88/77/EEC, and

- the total annual world-wide production of N1 vehicles of the manufacturer is less than 2000 units.

2. Point 2.3. shall be replaced by the following:

2.3. For the test described in point 6, a vehicle representative of the vehicle type to be approved will be submitted when the technical service responsible for the type-approval tests carries out the tests itself. For M1 vehicles and N1 vehicles, type-approved with respect to their emissions according to Directive 70/220/EEC, the technical service will check during the test that this vehicle conforms to the limit values applicable to that type, as described in Directive 70/220/EEC.

3. In point 6.1 the following paragraph shall be added:

Vehicles which do not attain the acceleration and maximum speed values required in the test cycle must be operated with the accelerator control fully depressed until they once again reach the required operating curve. Deviations from the test cycle must be recorded in the test report.

4. Point 11 shall be replaced by the following:

11. EXTENSION OF APPROVAL

11.1. The type-approval can be extended to vehicles from the same type or from a different type differing with regard to the following characteristics of Annex II, if the CO2 emissions measured by the technical service do not exceed by more than 4 % for vehicles of category M1 and 6 % for vehicles of category N1 the type-approval value:

- reference mass

- maximum authorised mass

- type of bodywork:

for M1: saloon, hatchback, station wagon, coupé, convertible, multi-purpose vehicle

for N1: lorry, van

- overall gear ratios

- engine equipment and accessories

11.2. Extension of approval of vehicles of category N1 within a family:

11.2.1. For vehicles of category N1 that are approved as members of a vehicle family using the procedure in Annex I, point 12.2, the type-approval can be extended to vehicles from within the same family only if the technical service estimates that the fuel consumption of the new vehicle does not exceed the fuel consumption of the vehicle on which the family's fuel consumption is based.

Approvals may also be extended to vehicles which:

- are up to 110 kg heavier than the family member tested, provided that they are within 220 kg of the lightest member of the family; and

- have a lower overall transmission ratio than the family member tested due solely to a change in tyre sizes; and

- conform with the family in all other respects.

11.2.2. For vehicles of category N1 that are approved as members of a vehicle family using the procedure in Annex I, point 12.3, the type-approval can be extended to vehicles from within the same family without additional testing only if the technical service estimates that the fuel consumption of the new vehicle falls within the limits made up of those two vehicles in the family that have the lowest, respectively the highest fuel consumption.

5. The following point shall be added:

12. APPROVAL OF VEHICLES OF CATEGORY N1 WITHIN A FAMILY

Vehicles of category N1 can be approved within a family as defined in 12.1 using one of the two alternative methods described in 12.2. and 12.3.

12.1. N1 vehicles may be grouped together into a family for the purposes of this Directive if the following parameters are identical or within the specified limits:

12.1.1. Identical parameters are:

- manufacturer and type as defined in Annex II, Section I, point 0.2

- engine capacity

- emission control system type

- fuel system type as defined in Annex II, point 1.5.2.

12.1.2. The following parameters have to be within the following limits:

- transmission overall ratios (no more than 8 % higher than the lowest) as defined in Annex II, point 1.6.3

- reference mass (no more than 220 kg lighter than the heaviest)

- frontal area (no more than 15 % smaller than the largest)

- engine power (no more than 10 % less than the highest value).

12.2. A vehicle family, as defined in 12.1, can be approved with CO2 emission and fuel consumption data that are common to all members of the family. The technical service must select for testing the member of the family, which the service considers to have the highest CO2 emission. The measurements are performed as described in point 6, and the results according to the method described in 6.5 are used as type-approval values that are common to all members of the family.

12.3. Vehicles that are grouped in a family as defined in 12.1 can be approved with individual CO2 emission and fuel consumption data for each of the family members. The technical service selects for testing the two vehicles, which the service considers to have the highest and the lowest CO2 emissions respectively. The measurements are performed as described in point 6. If the manufacturer's data for these two vehicles falls within the tolerance described in 6.5, the CO2 emissions declared by the manufacturer for all members of the vehicle family can be used as type-approval values. If the manufacturer's data do not fall within the tolerance, the results according to the method described in 6.5 are used as type-approval values and the technical service shall select an appropriate number of other family members for additional tests.

II. Annex II to Directive 80/1268/EEC shall be amended as follows:1. The text at the top of the page shall be amended as follows:

Addendum to EC type-approval certificate No:

concerning the type approval of a vehicle (6) with regard to Directive 80/1268/EEC (CO2 emissions and fuel consumption) as last amended by Directive 2003/.../EC.

2. The following footnote shall be added to the Addendum:

(6) For vehicles that are approved within a family according to Annex I, point 12, this addendum must be supplied for each individual member of the vehicle family.

3. The Addendum shall be further amended as follows:(a) Point 1.3 shall read as follows:

1.3. Type of bodywork:

1.3.1. for M1: saloon, hatchback, station wagon, coupé, convertible, multi-purpose vehicle (1)

1.3.2. for N1: lorry, van

(b) Point 1.7 shall read as follows:

1.7. Type-approval values

STATEMENT OF THE COUNCIL'S REASONS

I. INTRODUCTION

The proposed Directive is based on Art. 95 of the EC Treaty.

The European Parliament completed its first reading and delivered an Opinion on 24 September 2002(1).

The Economic and Social Committee delivered an Opinion(2) on 27 November 2001.

On 9 October 2003 the Council adopted its Common Position as set out in doc. 5997/03.

II. OBJECTIVE

This Directive aims to amend Directive 80/1268/EEC, as last amended by Directive 1999/100/EC, in order to extend the scope of the Directive to N1 vehicles (light commercial vehicles) as currently this Directive only applies to M1 vehicles (passenger cars). The proposal introduces harmonised mandatory requirements for the measurement of carbon dioxide and fuel consumption of N1 vehicles. It is therefore a first prerequisite to enable, monitor and evaluate possible fuel economy related measures for N1 vehicles in the EU. This legislation should also improve the available information to consumers or perspective buyers.

III. ANALYSIS OF THE COMMON POSITION AS SET OUT IN DOC. 5997/03

1. General

In the Common Position adopted unanimously, the Council:

- has completed Art. 1;

- has created 2 new Articles (Art. 3 and 4), introducing namely the concept of "vehicle family";

- has postponed various dates of entry into force;

- has included the common definitions for the three weight classes of N1 vehicles;

- has introduced 2 new paragraphs in the Annex concerning the modification of Annex I of Directive 80/1268/EC (extension of type-approval, the approval of vehicle of category N1 within a family);

- has introduced in the Annex a modification of Annex II of Directive 80/1268/EEC.

2. New elements contained in the Common Position as compared with the Commission proposal

Art. 1

The subject of Row 39 of Part I of Annex 4 to Directive 70/156/EEC has been extended to CO2 emissions.

An Article 1(b) has been added on the information on CO2 emissions/fuel consumption of N1 vehicles to be mentioned in the EC Certificate of Conformity

Art. 2

The scope of this Article has been extended to Annex II of Directive 80/1268/EEC.

Art. 3

This new Article requests the Commission, not later than two years after the entry into force of this Directive, to:

(a) present a study on the possibilities to obtain representative CO2 emissions and fuel consumption data for completed multi-stage vehicles and vehicles whose emissions are measured according to Directive 88/77/EEC in order to take into account the "cost-efficiency" aspects of these measurements;

(b) present an evaluation of the vehicle family concept introduced in this Directive;

(c) if appropriate, present draft measures on the adaptation of this Directive to technical progress to the Committee established by Art. 13 of Directive 70/156/EEC.

Art. 4

This new Article is the consequence of the adoption of EP amendment No 2 and stipulates that, where a vehicle produced by a specialist coach builder falls within the criteria of one of the families of vehicles of the manufacturer of the base vehicle, the coach builder may use the data on fuel efficiency and CO2 production supplied by that manufacturer.

Art. 5

In paragraph 1 the date of application has been changed from "1 May 2003" to "one year after the entry into force of this Directive".

In paragraph 2 the dates of application have been changed from "1 July 2003" to "1 January 2005" for vehicles of category N1, Class I and to "1 January 2007" for vehicles of category N1, class II and class III.

In paragraph 3 the date of application has been changed from "1 January 2007" to "1 January 2008".

A new paragraph 4 has been introduced postponing by 12 months the dates mentioned in paragraphs 2 and 3 for multi-stage vehicles.

The new paragraph 5 includes the definitions of the three weight classes of vehicles N1.

Art. 6

Member States shall bring into force the laws, regulations and administrative provisions necessary to comply with this Directive "before 12 months after the entry into force of this Directive" instead of "by 30 April 2003".

Annex

Subdivision I:

On paragraph 1 "Scope", the amendment No 1 of the EP requesting to replace "and" by "or" at the first indent was not accepted.

A paragraph 4 has been introduced to replace point 11 of Annex I of Directive 80/1268/EEC, extending the type-approval. This paragraph takes into account some of the concerns of EP amendment No 3.

A paragraph 5 has been introduced, adding a new point 12 to the Annex I of Directive 80/1268/EEC on the approval of vehicles of category N1 within a family. This paragraph takes also into account some of the concerns of EP amendment No 3.

A new subdivision II has been added to the Annex. It concerns the modification of Annex II of Directive 80/1268/EEC, bringing some clarifications to the existing text.

IV. CONCLUSION

The Common Position, broadly in line with the Commission proposal, has been unanimously adopted by the Council. The main changes to the Commission proposal were the introduction of a vehicle family concept and the changes to the dates of transposition and of entry into force of this Directive.

(1) OJ C 273 E, 14.11.2003, p. 74.

(2) OJ C 125, 27.5.2002, p. 6.