The European Union does not want to know about strict standards for passenger car exhaust fumes local

The new Euro 7 standard, approved this evening, lowers emissions limits for heavy trucks and, for the first time in Europe, sets limits on particulate emissions caused by brake and tire wear. Minimum performance requirements have also been defined regarding the durability of batteries in electric and hybrid vehicles. These engines must last at least 72 years and retain at least 72 percent of their capacity after 8 years or 160,000 kilometres.

Parliament and member states must still formally approve the agreement. The rules go even lower than what the European Commission proposed in November 2022. The NGO Transport and Environment spoke in September of an “air quality catastrophe” and rules that put “record profits of carmakers before the health of citizens.”

Carmakers have warned that extremely stringent standards will impact employment and the price of cars, which are increasingly less accessible to the middle class. Faced with massive investments to develop a new range of competing electric cars from Tesla and Chinese manufacturers, they want additional investment in combustion engines, which will disappear in any case.