ACEA “deeply worried” by new EU emissions proposal for commercial vehicles

Brussels - The European Automobile Manufacturers’ Association (ACEA) is “deeply worried” about the European Union’s proposal for new pollutant emission standards for trucks and buses – also known as Euro VII.

In a note published on the ACEA website 30 Jan, Martin Lundstedt, chairman of ACEA commercial vehicle board and CEO of Volvo Group, warned that the new regulation could slow down the transition to zero-emission transport and climate neutrality.

Issued by the European Commission in November last year, the proposed regulation aims to extend emission rules, for the first time, from exhaust emissions to also cover particles from brakes and tires.

The package is being billed as an important element of the EU’s Green Deal ambitions, towards achieving climate neutrality and improving air quality.

But according to Lundstedt, the proposal, in its current format, “sets major roadblocks” for manufacturers, and partners in the supply chain, to continue shift to zero emissions.

To comply with the proposal, Lundstedt said, truck makers would be forced to move “substantial engineering and financial resources” from battery- and fuel-cell electric vehicles back to the internal combustion engine.

“It would not only put the brakes on our rapidly advancing electromobility roadmap but potentially set it into reverse gear,” he warned.

According to the ACEA official, the proposal comes at a time when other major markets like the US are working towards the transition to fossil-free alternatives “by creating an attractive investment environment.”

“While other regions are providing massive incentives to support the transition, Europe is trying to regulate its way towards zero-emission mobility, and that is not even being done in a harmonised way in the EU,” he said.

In the US, for instance, the ‘inflation reduction act’ aims to create “massive incentives to focus on battery-electric and hydrogen powered vehicles,” he added.

Stating that Europe's "net zero future hangs in the balance", Lundstedt called on the EU to make a decision that has 'positive impact for Europe'.

The European Commission’s feedback period for the proposal ends 9 Feb, after which all feedback received will be presented to the European Parliament and Council with the aim of feeding into the legislative debate.