Source: European Parliament
Delivering on the EU’s climate targets[1] requires a swift decrease in greenhouse gas emissions from all sectors, including transport.
The CO2 emission standards Regulation[2] sets targets to reduce emissions for new cars and vans, which creates long-term predictability for manufacturers and investors, while giving industry the necessary lead-time to adapt.
This supports competitiveness, as EU manufacturers are strongly investing in zero-emission technologies and a strong home market is a crucial enabler for them to regain leadership in this area.
From 2025, the limit value curve used for calculating car manufacturers’ specific targets has changed, taking into account recent developments in the relationship between the mass and CO2 emissions of new cars, including due to the increased uptake of battery electric vehicles.
The CO2 targets apply to vehicles’ tailpipe emissions. This ensures that manufacturers implement innovative technologies, which reduce emissions of the vehicles when driven on the road.
Emissions from other lifecycle stages of vehicles are regulated under separate pieces of EU legislation[3]. By end 2025, the Commission is required to adopt a methodology for assessing and reporting life-cycle CO2 emissions of vehicles.
From June 2026, manufacturers may submit to the Commission life-cycle CO2 emissions data for their vehicles, calculated according to that methodology.
- [1] Enshrined in the European Climate Law — http://data.europa.eu/eli/reg/2021/1119/oj.
- [2] https://eur-lex.europa.eu/eli/reg/2023/851/oj/eng.
- [3] Such as the EU Emission Trading System Directive — http://data.europa.eu/eli/dir/2003/87/2024-03-01 and the Renewable Energy Directive — http://data.europa.eu/eli/dir/2018/2001/2024-07-16.