Case C-693/18: Judgment of the Court (Second Chamber) of 17 December 2020 (request for a preliminary ruling from the Juge d’instruction du tribunal de grande instance de Paris — France) — Criminal proceedings against X (Reference for a preliminary ruling — Approximation of laws — Regulation (EC) No 715/2007 — Article 3(10) — Article 5(2) — Defeat device — Motor vehicles — Diesel engines — Pollutant emissions — Program acting on the electronic engine controller — Technologies and strategies to limit the production of pollutant emissions)
Date: 2020-12-17
Institutions: Court of Justice
Subjects: approval, approximation of laws, diesel engine, driving mechanism, environmental standard, motor vehicle, motor vehicle pollution, pollution control measures, technical specification, technical standard








C_2021053EN.01000201.xml










15.2.2021   


EN


Official Journal of the European Union


C 53/2






Judgment of the Court (Second Chamber) of 17 December 2020 (request for a preliminary ruling from the Juge d’instruction du tribunal de grande instance de Paris — France) — Criminal proceedings against X
(Case C-693/18) (1)

(Reference for a preliminary ruling - Approximation of laws - Regulation (EC) No 715/2007 - Article 3(10) - Article 5(2) - Defeat device - Motor vehicles - Diesel engines - Pollutant emissions - Program acting on the electronic engine controller - Technologies and strategies to limit the production of pollutant emissions)
(2021/C 53/02)
Language of the case: French

Referring court

Juge d’instruction du tribunal de grande instance de Paris

Party in the main proceedings

X

Intervening parties: CLCV and Others, A and Others, B, AGLP and Others, C and Others

Operative part of the judgment







1.


Article 3(10) of 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 must be interpreted as meaning that software installed or acting on the electronic engine controller constitutes an ‘element of design’, within the meaning of that provision, where it acts on the operation of the emission control system and reduces its effectiveness;










2.


Article 3(10) of Regulation No 715/2007 must be interpreted as meaning that the concept of an ‘emission control system’, within the meaning of that provision, covers both ‘exhaust gas after-treatment’ technologies and strategies that reduce emissions downstream, namely after their formation, and those which, like the exhaust gas recirculation system, reduce emissions upstream, namely during their formation;










3.


Article 3(10) of Regulation No 715/2007 must be interpreted as meaning that a device which detects any parameter related to the conduct of the approval procedures provided for by that regulation in order to improve the performance of the emission control system during those procedures, and thus to obtain approval of the vehicle, constitutes a ‘defeat device’ within the meaning of that provision, even if such an improvement may also be observed, occasionally, under normal conditions of vehicle use;










4.


Article 5(2)(a) of Regulation No 715/2007 must be interpreted as meaning that a defeat device, such as that at issue in the main proceedings, which systematically improves the performance of the vehicle emission control system during type-approval procedures in order to comply with the emission limits laid down by that regulation, and thus obtain the approval of those vehicles, cannot fall within the scope of the exception to the prohibition on such devices laid down in that provision, which relates to the protection of the engine against damage or accident and the safe operation of the vehicle, even if such a device helps to prevent the ageing or clogging up of the engine






(1)  OJ C 82, 4.3.2019.