Euro 7 emissions standard to cost many times EU forecasts, ACEA says

Proposed Euro 7 emissions regulations will lead to direct costs for automakers that are up to 10 times higher than the European Commission's forecasts, industry lobbying group ACEA said, citing a new study.

Direct costs for gasoline cars and vans, including type approval, investment and equipment costs, to comply with Euro 7 would be 1,862 euros ($2,050) per vehicle, versus the Commission's estimate of 184 euros per vehicle, according to the study by consultancy Frontier Economics, commissions by ACEA.

Direct costs for buses and trucks would average 11,707 euros per vehicle, compared with a Commission estimate of 2,765 euros, the study said.

ACEA said the increase in prices for consumers and companies buying those vehicles would be even higher.

"The European auto industry is committed to further reducing emissions," ACEA Director General Sigrid de Vries said in in a statement. "However, the Euro 7 proposal is simply not the right way to do this, as it would have an extremely low environmental impact at an extremely high cost."

European automakers have been fighting back against Euro 7, arguing that the regulations are too costly and unnecessary because the industry is spending tens of billions of euros on zero-emission electric vehicles.

Last week Italy's transport minister said the country and its EU allies "have the numbers" to block the regulation.

But the European Commission says the regulations are needed to cut harmful emissions and prevent a repeat of Volkswagen Group’s emissions scandal of 2015.

European Union countries and lawmakers will negotiate proposals this year for tighter limits for diesel -- but not gasoline -- car emissions and for heavy-duty trucks and buses, including nitrogen oxide and carbon monoxide.

Euro 7 would take effect in mid-2025 for cars and in mid-2027 for trucks and buses.

The regulation seeks to tighten rules on pollutants other than CO2, such as carbon monoxide and nitrogen oxides. The rules also aim to tackle particulates from brakes and tires.

Tackling emissions from cars is challenging for EU lawmakers. The EU’s rules to effectively ban the combustion engine in new cars from 2035 as part of its CO2 reduction goals were delayed for weeks after a last-minute push by Germany to secure allowances for so-called e-fuels.