The European automotive industry has once again lobbied against the European Commission’s planned Euro 7 regulation, which will further tighten pollutant emissions, Kallanish reports.

The new standards rules bring emission limits for all motor vehicles – cars, vans, business and trucks – under a single set of rules. They place the same limits regardless of drivetrain – petrol, diesel, electric or alternative fuels – and tackle emissions from tailpipes, brakes and tyres. The proposal replaces and simplifies separate emission rules for cars and vans (Euro 6) and trucks and buses (Euro VI).

On Monday, Martin Lundstedt, chairman of ACEA Commercial Vehicle Board and ceo of Volvo Group, questioned whether the EU is “playing with our net zero future.” In a statement, he warned the new regulation could slow down the transition to zero-emission transport and climate neutrality.

That’s because to comply with the new rules, truck and bus manufacturers would “be forced to move substantial engineering and financial resources from battery- and fuel-cell electric vehicles back to the internal combustion engine,” he argues. “It would not only put the brakes on our rapidly advancing electromobility roadmap but potentially set it into reverse gear,” Lundstedt adds.

ACEA calls for a “streamlined, holistic approach to the massive transition to zero-emission” that the industry is undertaking. It says that Euro 7 and CO2 standards for heavy-duty vehicles can’t be looked at in isolation from one another.

It claims that while other regions are heavily incentivising the transition, “Europe is trying to regulate its way towards zero-emission mobility, and that is not even being done in a harmonised way in the EU.”

The Volvo boss is lobbying the European Parliament and member states to define their positions on the Euro 7 proposal, supporting the region’s truckmakers to accelerate their transition, focusing on faster fleet renewal and prioritising investments in zero-emission vehicles.

“The decisions that will be taken will have an impact. Let’s make sure they are positive for Europe,” Lundstedt concludes.

The EC hopes that Euro 7 will lower total nitrogen oxide (NOx) emission from trucks and buses by 56% compared to the previous Euro VI regulation by 2035. Tailpipe particles from these vehicles will be cut by 39%.