Development of post-Euro 6/VI emission standards for cars, vans, lorries and buses

The EESC:

• supports the introduction of Euro 7 emission standards as an important element in achieving the EU's ambient air quality objectives. At the same time, this will also allow the EU to maintain its industrial leadership in clean automotive technologies;
• calls for increased efforts regarding vocational training, upskilling/reskilling of the workforce, regional/local programs of economic reconversion and professional reclassification;
• welcomes the many improvements contained in the proposed regulation: prevention of manipulation, use of digital technologies, reduction of complexity, and inclusion of electric vehicles and non-exhaust emissions;
• Notes that individual car mobility must remain affordable in order to avoid "mobility poverty" (alternative transport options are not sufficiently available outside urban agglomerations);
• believes that offering incentives to consumers would speed up the renewal of the car fleet and have significant health benefits, as replacing Euro 1-5/I-V vehicles with Euro 6/VI vehicles would lead to an 80% reduction in NO_x emissions;
• calls for a swift adoption of the regulation and a minimum time frame of two years for cars/commercial vehicles and three years for buses and heavy goods vehicles.