COMMISSION STAFF WORKING DOCUMENT EXECUTIVE SUMMARY OF THE IMPACT ASSESSMENT Accompanying the document PROPOSAL FOR A REGULATION OF THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT AND OF THE COUNCIL on type-approval of motor vehicles and of engines and of systems, components and separate technical units intended for such vehicles, with respect to their emissions and battery durability (Euro 7) and repealing Regulations (EC) No 715/2007 and (EC) No 595/2009
Date: 2022-11-10
Institutions: Directorate-General for Internal Market, Industry, Entrepreneurship and SMEs, European Commission
Subjects: approval, electricity storage device, energy consumption, engine, market supervision, motor fuel, motor vehicle, motor vehicle pollution, product life, technical standard, vehicle parts

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   EUROPEAN COMMISSION  Brussels, 10.11.2022  SWD(2022) 360 final  COMMISSION STAFF WORKING DOCUMENT  EXECUTIVE SUMMARY OF THE IMPACT ASSESSMENT  Accompanying the document PROPOSAL FOR A REGULATION OF THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT AND OF THE COUNCIL on type-approval of motor vehicles and of engines and of systems, components and separate technical units intended for such vehicles, with respect to their emissions and battery durability (Euro 7) and repealing Regulations (EC) No 715/2007 and (EC) No 595/2009 {COM(2022) 586 final} - {SEC(2022) 397 final} - {SWD(2022) 358 final} - {SWD(2022) 359 final}  
 
 
Executive Summary Sheet 

Impact assessment on the development of Euro 7 emission standards for cars, vans, lorries and buses. 

A. Need for action 

What is the problem and why is it a problem at EU level? 
Despite  the  progress  in  reducing  harmful  emissions  through  the  introduction  of  Real  Driving  Emission  (RDE) 
testing in 2017, the evaluation of the Euro 6/VI emission standards for cars/vans and lorries/buses respectively, 
identified three key problems that show that existing standards do not  contribute sufficiently to the decrease of 
pollutant emissions from road transport in the EU: (1) The vehicle emission standards are too complex. (2) The 
current  pollutant  emission  limits  are  obsolete  as  many  harmful  pollutants  remain  unregulated  and  further 
emission  reductions  are  possible  with  current  technologies.  (3)  Vehicle  real-world  emissions  are  insufficiently 
controlled over the vehicle lifetime (e.g. the Euro 6 requires durability of only 5 years, while the average age of 
cars  on  EU  roads  is  10.8  years).  Despite  proposed  100%  CO2  targets  for  cars  and  vans  by  2035,  increasing 
share of zero- and low-emission heavy-duty vehicles and new Euro 6d/VI E vehicles entering the market, a low-
pollution  level  cannot  be  reached  for  pollutant  emissions  from  road  transport,  neither  for  traditional  pollutants 
such as NOx, exhaust particles or methane nor for new ones such as laughing gas or non-exhaust particles from 
brakes and tyres that will be there irrespectively of the engine. 

What should be achieved? 
The general objective is twofold, to ensure the proper functioning of the single market by setting more adequate, 
cost-effective  and  future-proof  rules  for  vehicle  emissions;  and  to  ensure  a  high  level  of  environmental  and 
health protection in the EU by further reducing air pollutant emissions from road transport towards zero-pollution, 
as required by the Zero Pollution Action Plan, as rapidly as possible. The initiative aims to achieve the following 
specific objectives: (1) to reduce complexity of the current Euro emission standards, to curb administrative costs 
and  facilitate  efficient  implementation;  (2)  to  provide  up-to-date  limits  for  all  relevant  air  pollutants;  and  (3)  to 
improve the control of real-world emissions. 

What is the value added of action at the EU level (subsidiarity)? 
With  the  Euro  6/VI  emission  standards  for  cars/vans  and  lorries/buses,  a  fully  harmonised  EU  legislation  is 
already in place. Action at national or international level are unlikely to lead to optimal outcomes since both air 
pollution and road transport have a transboundary nature. Without a common action at EU level, numerous rules 
with different levels of stringency could be adopted by Member States. This would result in market fragmentation 
and  harm  the  functioning  of  the  single  market.  EU  action  is  thus  fully  justified  to  address  the  problem  of 
excessive pollutant emissions from road transport. 

B. Solutions 

What are the various options to achieve the objectives? Is there a preferred option or not? If not, 
why? 
Policy options 1, 2a, 2b and 3a (option 3b on high digital ambition has been discarded) were developed in line 
with  the  specific  objectives.  All  options  aim  at  reducing  complexity  of  the  current  Euro  emission  standards  by 
introducing  simplification  measures.  Up-to-date  emission  limits  for  all  relevant  air  pollutants  are  provided  in 
option  1  with  low  green  ambition,  in  option  2a  and  3a  with  medium  green  ambition  and  in  option  2b  with  high 
green  ambition.  Control  of  real-world  emissions  are  improved  in  option  1  by  low  ambition  real-driving  testing 
boundaries,  in  option  2a  by  medium  ambition  real-driving  testing  boundaries  and  durability  requirements,  in 
option  2b  by  high  ambition  real-driving  testing  boundaries  and  durability  requirements  and  in  option  3a  by 
medium  ambition  real-driving  testing  boundaries,  durability  requirements  and  new  digital  ambition  through 
continuous  emission  monitoring.  The  overall  proportionality  assessment  of  the  effectiveness,  efficiency  and 
coherence  of  each  of  the  options  has  demonstrated  that  the  preferred  option  can  be  narrowed  down  to  policy 
option 3a with medium green and digital ambition for light- and heavy-duty vehicles.  

What are different stakeholders' views? Who supports which option?  
The  public  consultation  has  illustrated  that  in  general  industry  stakeholders  are  more  likely  to  support  the 
baseline, i.e. the "no policy change" scenario assuming that Euro 6/VI continues to apply; or policy option 1 with 
low  green  ambition.  In  particular,  they  expressed  concerns  regarding  technological  potential  for  reducing 
emissions,  especially  in  option  2b.  Member  States  and  civil  society  representatives  and  citizens,  on  the  other 
hand, showed more support for the actions in the medium to high green and digital ambition policy options 2 and 
3. 

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C. Impacts of the preferred option 

What are the benefits of the preferred option (if any, otherwise main ones)? 
Impacts  have  been  assessed  against  a  baseline  assuming  the  continuation  of  the  currently  applicable  Euro  6 
d/VI  E  steps  and  the  recent  proposal  for  revised  CO2  emission  standards  for  cars/vans.  The  preferred  policy 
option  3a  offers  through  twin  green  and  digital  ambition  substantial  positive  impacts  on  public  health  and 
environment expressed as monetised health and environmental benefits covering all pollutants until 2050. Main 
driver for these positive impacts are the reduction of harmful air pollutant emissions. For example, for cars/vans 
in 2035 NOx emissions are only 221 kt in policy option 3a, instead of 389 kt in the baseline. For lorries/buses in 
2035  NOx  emissions  are  only  313  kt  in  policy  option  3a,  instead  of  705  kt  in  the  baseline.  The  reductions  in 
pollutant  emissions  are  estimated  to  result  into  total  monetary  health  benefits  of  €56  billion  for  cars/vans  and 
€134 billion for lorries/buses over the period 2025-2050. In addition, the preferred policy option 3a results in total 
cost savings for companies estimated at €4.7 billion for cars/vans and at €0.6 for lorries/buses over the period 
2025-2050.  

What are the costs of the preferred option (if any, otherwise main ones)?  
Total regulatory costs for the automotive industry are estimated to increase in the preferred option. This is due to 
increasing  substantive  compliance  costs  in  the  form  of  equipment  costs  for  emission  control  technologies  and 
the related R&D and calibration costs including facilities and tooling costs. The total additional regulatory costs 
between 2025 and 2050 are estimated at €35 billion for cars/vans and at €18 billion for lorries/buses. When also 
taking into account the estimated cost savings, the overall cost per vehicle is expected to increase by €304 for 
cars/vans and by €2 681 for lorries/buses. Costs per vehicle are  not expected to represent more than 2-3% of 
the average vehicle price for any vehicle segment for cars/vans and lorries/buses.  

What are the impacts on SMEs and competitiveness? 
Although the preferred option affects the costs of manufacturers which are mainly large companies, it would also 
have a positive effect on their competitiveness. The use of best available emission control technologies and new 
sensors supports access to international key markets, in particular United States and China which have stricter 
emission limits requirements. The 35 identified SME manufacturers – which generally build cars on the basis of 
powertrains from large manufacturers – are not expected to be affected in a significant manner, in particular as 
the exemption from certain tests for small volume manufacturers will continue to apply.  

Will there be significant impacts on national budgets and administrations? 
Since additional regulatory costs result from increasing hardware and R&D and related calibration costs, they will 
be  borne  by  automotive  manufacturers  and  suppliers.  Industry  players  are  expected  to  transfer  these  costs  to 
their consumers. Overall, no significant impacts are expected on national budgets and administrations.  

Will there be other significant impacts? 
Through  continuous  emission  monitoring,  more  information  on  the  emission  performance  of  vehicles  could  be 
made available to consumers, while also the detection of non-compliance and malfunction would be facilitated. 
This is expected to positively affect consumer trust and help modernise roadworthiness inspection procedures. 
The preferred option is also considered to have a slightly positive impact on the single market for all vehicles, on 
the  workers  skills  and  employment.  Furthermore,  through  regulating  the  durability  of  in-vehicle  batteries,  the 
acceptance of battery electric vehicles will be promoted. 

Proportionality? 
The  proposed  action  addresses  the  objective  of  the  initiative  -  zero-pollution  ambition  the  EU  -  without  going 
beyond  what  is  necessary  to  reduce  complexity  of  the  current  Euro  emission  standards,  to  ensure  up-to-date 
limits for all relevant air pollutants and to improve control of real-world emissions.  

When will the policy be reviewed? 
Several monitoring indicators have been identified for the review of the Euro 7 emission standards planned with 
the mid-term evaluation of the ‘fit-for-55’ initiatives. 

D. Follow up 

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