Light-duty vehicles

LATEST UPDATE (February 2024)

Euro 6c/d-TEMP, including WLTP and RDE step 1, started on 1 September 2017 for new car types.
Euro 6d, with RDE step 2, started on 1 January 2020
Euro 6e, with further improvements, started on 1 September 2023

CURRENT EU LEGISLATION

Regulation (EC) No 715/2007 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 20 June 2007 on type approval of motor vehicles with respect to emissions from light passenger and commercial vehicles (Euro 5 and Euro 6) and on access to vehicle repair and maintenance information

https://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/TXT/?qid=1447677088845&uri=CELEX:02007R0715-20121231

implemented by Commission Regulation (EC) No 2017/1151 of 1 June 2017.

https://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/AUTO/?uri=CELEX:02017R1151-20200125&qid=1592392867759

which was last amended by Commission Regulation (EU) No 2023/443 of 8 February 2023

https://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/TXT/?uri=CELEX%3A32023R0443&qid=1706798624587

EVOLUTION OF LIGHT-DUTY STANDARDS

Since 1992, the EU has introduced increasingly stricter limits on light-duty vehicle emissions through a series of ‘Euro’ standards. The latest and most stringent of these standards is Euro 6. New car models have complied with Euro 6 since September 2014, and all new cars sold since September 2015 must meet this standard. Since the Euro standards were introduced, nitrogen oxides (NOx) limits for diesel car engines have been reduced by 84%, and particulates (PM) by 90%.

Since 1 September 2017, a Not-To-Exceed (NTE) emissions limit is set for Real-Driving Emissions (RDE) of new car models with a Conformity Factor (CF) i.e., NTE to Euro 6 limit ratio of 2.1 for NOx emissions. This is called the Euro 6d-TEMP standard and applies to all new cars since September 2019.

From January 2020, the NOx CF has been lowered to 1.43 (being 1.0 + error margin of 0.43; the error margin is currently being discussed and possibly reviewed) for new models and will be implemented on all new cars from January 2021. This is called the Euro 6d standard.

A CF for Particle Number (PN) also entered into force in September 2017 for new car types as 1.5 (1.0 + error margin of 0.5 to be reviewed). It has applied to all new cars since September 2018.

From September 2023, as part of the Euro 6e implementation, the PEMS error margin for NOx has been reduced from 0.43 to 0.1, that of PN from 0.5 to 0.34.

Development of european light-duty emissions limits

Development of European Light-duty Emissions Limits – Particulate

Development of European Light-duty Emissions Limits – HC

Development of European Light-duty Emissions Limits – NOx

Development of European Light-duty Emissions Limits – CO