The new Euro 7 emissions standard was passed by the EU Parliament on 18 December 2023. The introduction of the new standard is planned for newly type-approved vehicles from 01.01.2027 and for newly registered vehicles from 01.01.2028. The new standard is aimed at passenger cars, vans, trucks and buses. One new feature is that particles (non-exhaust particle emissions) from tyre and brake abrasion and the service life of batteries are now also regulated.
The requirement for cars and other vehicles to meet certain emission standards for registration is nothing new. This is intended to ensure that as few substances harmful to the environment and health as possible are released into the air, improving the overall air quality. A new feature is that, for the first time, there will also be limit values for brake and tyre wear and the service life of batteries.
What are the new limit values for passenger cars, trucks and buses?
For passenger cars, nothing will change initially, and the previous Euro 6 standards will continue to apply. The only new feature is that a limit value for ammonia (NH₃) will be added. But there is a new development for buses and trucks: These are now subject to stricter limit values for exhaust emissions, such as stricter NOx limits. Limit values for formaldehyde (CH₂O) and nitrous oxide (N₂O) have also been added.
The new standard focuses in particular on batteries, brakes and tyres
A new feature of the Euro 7 emissions standard is that abrasion (fine dust and pollutants) for tyres and brakes is now also regulated. This not only affects combustion engines, but also electric vehicles. Here, a limit value of 3 mg/km will apply for purely electric passenger cars/transports and 7 mg/km for vehicles with different drive types.
A minimum service life for batteries in electric vehicles has also been specified. For batteries in electric and hybrid vehicles, there is a prescribed service life for the drive batteries. They must have 80 percent of their output after five years or 100,000 kilometres. After eight years or 160,000 kilometres, the battery capacity must still be at least 72 percent.
Transitional solution - Euro 6e
As it will be some time before the new emissions standard Euro 7 comes into force, the Euro 6e standard has been in place since 1 September 2023. This stipulates that newly type-approved cars must comply with the following values in the road test (RDE, Real Driving Emissions): Nitrogen oxides NOx 1.1 and PN (particle count) 1.34. This will then apply for first registrations for new cars from 01/09/24.