Good news for the European automobile industry, at least if what it anticipates Political materializes officially. After years of negotiations, dozens and dozens of modifications and tremendous pressure from car industry lobbies, everything points to the European Commission will not demand a large reduction in emissions of cars in the Euro 7 anti-pollution regulations. In short, it will be a soft Euro 7 and it is a great oxygen balloon for the manufacturers of internal combustion cars.
According to Politico, recent geopolitical events and economic circumstances have motivated a “softening” of the emission limits of the first drafts of the Euro 7. In fact, they state that the levels of polluting emissions will be very similar to those present in the last revision of Euro 6, currently in force. Of course, this announcement, which will not be official until November 9, so we should take everything that is written by Politico and this article with a little skepticism.
The rise in the price of new cars has forced millions of Europeans to continue stretching older, more polluting cars.
Be that as it may, it is great news for the car industry and a great victory for the lobbies, who have pressured the European Commission for years to achieve their goal. According to directors such as Carlos Tavares (Stellantis) a severe Euro 7 moves the focus away from electrificationforcing manufacturers to make large investments – and transfer them to the final price of cars – in technologies that will be completely obsolete in a decade, taking resources away from the electrification effort.
The goal that by 2035, all cars must be 100% emission-freeremains unchanged – the legislation on CO emissionstwo follow other channels. Among the reasons for a soft Euro 7 are, according to the European Commission, the tremendous challenges of the supply chain in the industry and the growing price pressure on consumers, spurred by inflation and the transfer to prices of the greater technological load of vehicles and investments in electrification of the industry.
One of the most questioned points of the Euro 7 was the constant monitoring of consumption of cars, as well as their compliance with the homologation of emissions regardless of temperature or load.
A soft Euro 7 would partly mitigate this price rise, at least on paper. The reactions of associations such as Transport & Environment have not been long in coming, stating that the European Commission has yielded to car manufacturers, prioritizing benefits over the public health of millions of Europeans. Even if a “soft” Euro 7 materializes, yes it will extend the precepts of the Euro 6 in aspects such as the emission of particles – for example those from the brakes – and will impose demands, for example, on battery durability.
Internal combustion, therefore, would be saved until the year 2035 in new cars. But we cannot forget that the average emission requirements of COtwo They will continue to harden. Requirements, which will be impossible to achieve without severe electrification and an increase in the share of plug-in vehicles, whether hybrid or 100% electric.
