European Commission to prepare type approvals for carbon neutral vehicles

The European Commission is preparing a draft Implementing Regulation on considering the emission standards for cars and light-duty commercial vehicles running on carbon neutral fuels in the type approvals. The Ministry of Transport and Communications informed Parliament of the upcoming initiative on 27 October 2023.

With the new Regulation, the Commission is expected to establish the Euro 6 type approvals for carbon neutral vehicles and provide a definition of CO2 neutral fuels. The Commission's Technical Committee on Motor Vehicles discussed the draft Regulation at its meeting on 4 October 2023.

Finland promotes a solution under which the definition of CO2 neutral fuel would be technologically neutral and cover not only e-fuels but also other fuels with low emissions during their lifecycle, in particular advanced liquid and gaseous biofuels. However, due to the limited availability of raw materials, the use of biofuels and biogas in transport should be targeted at heavy-goods vehicles in road transport and at air and maritime transport. For this reason, Finland is ultimately prepared to accept a draft definition that only covers e-fuels.

Draft based on decision to have zero emissions for new cars and vans by 2035

On 28 March 2023, the EU adopted a Regulation setting the CO2 emission performance standards for new cars and vans that are binding on EU vehicle manufacturers. By 2035, new cars and vans must have zero emissions. The draft Implementing Regulation under consideration concerns a section of the Regulation setting the CO2 emission performance standards according to which the Commission, following consultation with stakeholders, will make a proposal for registering after 2035 vehicles running exclusively on CO2 neutral fuels.

When the Commission adopted the Regulation, following bilateral discussions with Germany in spring 2023, it issued a statement confirming the implementation of this section. According to the statement, the Commission would submit an Implementing Regulation for the type approvals of vehicles running on e-fuels. 

The Commission also said it would make a Delegated Act specifying the extent to which e-fuels-only vehicles would contribute to the CO2 emission reduction targets. 

Next steps

The European Commission is expected to publish the draft Implementing Regulation in autumn 2023. The matter will continue to be discussed by the Commission's Technical Committee on Motor Vehicles.

Inquiries:

Laura Rantanen, Senior Specialist, tel. +358 295 342 175, [email protected]