CO2 emission standards for heavy-duty vehicles

LATEST UPDATE (July 2024)

 On 18 January 2024, negotiators from the European Parliament and Council reached a provisional political agreement on a Commission proposal. On 6 June 2024, Regulation 2024/1610 was published in the Official Journal of the European Union and entered into force on 26 June. The Regulation applies from 1 July 2024.

The scope of the Regulation has been expanded to make almost all new heavy-duty vehicles with certified CO2 emissions – including smaller trucks, urban buses, coaches and trailers – subject to emission reduction targets. It also extends the scope of the regulation to vocational vehicles such as garbage trucks or concrete mixers at a later stage (2035).

CO2 reduction targets for heavy trucks >7.5t are set as:
from 2030 onwards: -45%
from 2035 onwards: -65%
from 2040 onwards: -90%

CO2 reduction targets for urban buses are set as:
from 2030 onwards: -90%
from 2035 onwards: -100%

A zero-emission vehicle is defined based on a tailpipe approach as <=3gCO2/tkm (freight vehicles) or <=1gCO2/pkm (heavy passenger vehicles). Hydrogen-powered vehicles are defined as zero-emission vehicles.

The effectiveness and impact of the amended regulation on the above-mentioned targets will be reviewed by the Commission in 2027.

CURRENT EU LEGISLATION

 Regulation (EU) 2024/1610 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 14 May 2024 amending Regulation (EU) 2019/1242 as regards strengthening the CO2 emission performance standards for new heavy-duty vehicles and integrating reporting obligations, amending Regulation (EU) 2018/858 and repealing Regulation (EU) 2018/956
https://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/TXT/?uri=OJ:L_202401610

HISTORY OF CO2 EMISSION STANDARDS FOR HEAVY-DUTY VEHICLES

The first-ever EU-wide CO2 emission standards for heavy-duty vehicles, adopted in 2019, set targets for reducing the average emissions from new lorries for 2025 and 2030.

The targets were expressed as a percentage reduction of emissions compared to the EU average in the reference period (1 July 2019–30 June 2020):
from 2025 onwards: 15% reduction
from 2030 onwards: 30% reduction

The regulation also contained incentive mechanisms for zero- and low-emissions vehicles (ZLEV).