VDA proposals enable significant reductions in emissions and a positive cost-benefit ratio for manufacturers and customers

The automotive industry is resolutely behind the goal of constantly improving air quality in cities to protect health. The Euro standards are a fundamentally effective instrument in this regard. Significant improvements in air quality have already been achieved in recent years through continuous development.

"It is now crucial that further development of the emissions standard is based on a sense of proportion and feasibility while at the same time achieving a high level of efficiency. Unfortunately, this is expressly not the case in the current draft," explains VDA President Hildegard Müller.

The current proposal by the EU Commission also sets unrealistic timelines for car manufacturers. The manufacturers do not have enough time for the new development of the engine and exhaust systems until the start of type approval for all vehicles by the planned application date in July 2025. Light commercial vehicles are exposed to significantly stricter limits, test boundary conditions and measurement methods. This applies in particular to light commercial vehicles in the transporter class, which are affected by significantly stricter limits.

The Euro 7 draft is technologically hardly feasible for heavy commercial vehicles and large buses. This applies in particular to the PN limit (number of particles) in connection with the extremely low NOx (nitrogen oxides) and N2O limits (laughing gas). In terms of its requirements, the draft goes far beyond other international legislation (e.g. USA or China).

"The VDA has therefore developed corresponding alternative proposals that enable a significant reduction in pollutants and at the same time offer an advantageous cost-benefit ratio in terms of air quality and consumers," says Müller.

The VDA policy documents for passenger cars, light and heavy commercial vehicles and buses describe the following essential points:

Feasibility, transparency and a sense of proportion with regard to the costs and benefits of regulation are important. The focus must be on the specific air improvement and enable feasibility instead of setting up exaggerated demands.
The VDA is committed to securing drive development and production in Europe through an international harmonization of emissions legislation. If Europe goes it alone, there is a risk that development and production will migrate to other regions of the world, thus also a risk of job and prosperity losses.
The high investments required for the current Euro 7 standard proposal lead to significantly higher prices - and ultimately to cautious buying behavior. This in turn means slower renewal of fleets. In plain language: Older vehicles with higher pollutant emissions will stay in operation longer.
The VDA demands representative test constraints. The fact is: With the currently planned tightening of the constraints and without the exclusion of misuse, test maneuvers are permitted that occur extremely rarely in everyday life, but have strong repercussions on the exhaust aftertreatment technology installed. The VDA therefore advocates improving the effectiveness of exhaust aftertreatment without focusing on extreme situations. In normal operation, for example, pollutants could be reduced significantly more than the current Euro 7 draft stipulates.