Regulation (EU) No 510/2011 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 11 May 2011 setting emission performance standards for new light commercial vehicles as part of the Union’s integrated approach to reduce CO 2 emissions from light-duty vehicles Text with EEA relevance

31.5.2011

EN

Official Journal of the European Union

L 145/1

(1)

The United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change, which was approved on behalf of the European Community by Council Decision 94/69/EC (3), seeks to stabilise greenhouse gas concentrations in the atmosphere at a level that would prevent dangerous anthropogenic interference with the climate system. In order to meet this objective, the overall global annual mean surface temperature increase should not exceed 2 degrees Celsius above pre-industrial levels. The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change’s (IPCC) fourth Assessment Report shows that in order to reach that objective, global emissions of greenhouse gases must peak by 2020. At its meeting of 8-9 March 2007, the European Council made a firm commitment to reduce the overall greenhouse gas emissions of the Community by at least 20 % compared to 1990 levels by 2020 and by 30 % provided that other developed countries commit themselves to comparable emission reductions and economically more advanced developing countries contribute according to their respective capabilities.

(2)

In 2009, the Commission completed a review of the Union’s Sustainable Development Strategy focussing on the most pressing problems for sustainable development such as transport, climate change, public health and energy conservation.

(3)

Policies and measures should be implemented at Member State and Union level across all sectors of the Union economy, and not only within the industrial and energy sectors, in order to achieve the necessary emissions reductions. Decision No 406/2009/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 23 April 2009 on the effort of Member States to reduce their greenhouse gas emissions to meet the Community’s greenhouse gas emission reduction commitments up to 2020 (4) provides for an average reduction of 10 % compared to 2005 levels in the sectors not covered by the EU Emissions Trading Scheme, established by Directive 2003/87/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 13 October 2003 establishing a scheme for greenhouse gas emission allowance trading within the Community (5), including road transport. Road transport is the second largest greenhouse gas emitting sector in the Union and its emissions, including those from light commercial vehicles, continue to rise. If road transport emissions continue to increase, it will significantly undermine efforts made by other sectors to combat climate change.

(4)

Union targets for new road vehicles provide manufacturers with more planning certainty and more flexibility to meet the CO2 reduction requirements than would be provided by separate national reduction targets. In setting emission performance standards, it is important to take into account the implications for markets and for the competitiveness of manufacturers, the direct and indirect costs imposed on business and the benefits that accrue in terms of stimulating innovation and reducing energy consumption and fuel costs.

(5)

To enhance the competitiveness of the European automotive industry, incentive schemes such as the offsetting of eco-innovations and the award of super-credits should be used.

(6)

In its Communications of 7 February 2007 entitled ‘Results of the review of the Community Strategy to reduce CO2 emissions from passenger cars and light-commercial vehicles’ and ‘A Competitive Automotive Regulatory Framework for the 21st Century (CARS 21)’, the Commission underlined that the Community objective of average emissions for the new passenger car fleet of 120 g CO2/km would not be met by 2012 in the absence of additional measures.

(7)

In those Communications an integrated approach was proposed with a view to reaching the Community target of average emissions of 120 g CO2/km from new passenger cars and light commercial vehicles registered in the Community by 2012 by focusing on mandatory reductions of emissions of CO2 to reach an objective of 130 g CO2/km for the average new car fleet by means of improvements in vehicle motor technology and a further reduction of 10 g CO2/km, or equivalent if technically necessary, by means of other technological improvements, including fuel efficiency progress in light commercial vehicles.

(8)

The provisions implementing the objective concerning emissions from light commercial vehicles should be consistent with the legislative framework for implementing the objectives concerning emissions from the new passenger car fleet set out in Regulation (EC) No 443/2009 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 23 April 2009 setting emission performance standards for new passenger cars as part of the Community’s integrated approach to reduce CO2 emissions from light-duty vehicles (6).

(9)

The legislative framework for achieving the fleet average emissions target for new light commercial vehicles should ensure that reduction targets are competitively neutral, socially equitable and sustainable and take account of the diversity of European automobile manufacturers and avoid any unjustified distortion of competition between them. The legislative framework should be compatible with the overall objective of reaching the Union’s emission reduction targets and should be complemented by other more use-related instruments such as differentiated car and energy taxes or measures to limit the speed of light commercial vehicles.

(10)

In order to maintain the diversity of the light commercial vehicle market and its ability to address different consumer needs, CO2 emission targets for light commercial vehicles should be defined according to the utility of the vehicle on a linear basis. Mass is an appropriate parameter to describe this utility as it provides a correlation with present emissions and therefore results in more realistic and competitively neutral targets. Moreover, data on mass is readily available. Data on alternative utility parameters such as footprint (average track width times wheelbase) and payload should be collected in order to facilitate longer-term evaluations of the utility-based approach.

(11)

This Regulation actively promotes eco-innovation and takes into account future technological developments which can enhance the long-term competitiveness of the European automotive industry and create more high-quality jobs. As a means to assess systematically the emissions improvements of eco-innovations the Commission should consider the possibility of including eco-innovation measures in the review of test procedures pursuant to Article 14(3) of 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 (7), taking into consideration the technical and economic impacts of such inclusion.

(12)

Directive 1999/94/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 13 December 1999 relating to the availability of consumer information on fuel economy and CO2 emissions in respect of the marketing of new passenger cars (8) already requires that promotional literature for cars provides end-users with the official CO2 emission data and the official fuel consumption of the vehicle. The Commission, in its Recommendation 2003/217/EC of 26 March 2003 on the application to other media of the provisions of Directive 1999/94/EC concerning promotional literature (9), has interpreted this as including advertising. The scope of Directive 1999/94/EC should therefore be extended to light commercial vehicles, so that advertisements for any light commercial vehicles should be required to provide end-users with the official CO2 emission data and official fuel consumption of the vehicle where energy- or price-related information is disclosed, at the latest by 2014.

(13)

In recognition of the very high research and development and unit production costs of early generations of very low carbon vehicle technologies to be introduced into the marketplace following its entry into force, this Regulation seeks to accelerate and facilitate, on an interim basis, the process of introducing into the Union market ultra low carbon vehicles at their initial stages of commercialisation.

(14)

The use of certain alternative fuels can offer significant CO2 reductions in well-to-wheel terms. This Regulation therefore incorporates specific provisions aimed at promoting further deployment of certain alternative-fuel vehicles in the Union market.

(15)

By 1 January 2012 at the latest and with a view to improving data gathering on and measurement of fuel consumption, the Commission should consider whether to amend the relevant legislation in order to include an obligation for manufacturers seeking type approval for vehicles of category N1 as defined in Annex II to Directive 2007/46/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 5 September 2007 establishing a framework for the approval of motor vehicles and their trailers, and of systems, components and separate technical units intended for such vehicles (10) to equip every vehicle with a fuel consumption meter.

(16)

To ensure consistency with Regulation (EC) No 443/2009 and to avoid abuses, the target should be applied to new light commercial vehicles registered in the Union for the first time and that have not previously been registered outside the Union except for a limited period.

(17)

Directive 2007/46/EC establishes a harmonised framework containing the administrative provisions and general technical requirements for approval of all new vehicles within its scope. The entity responsible for complying with this Regulation should be the same as the entity responsible for all aspects of the type-approval process in accordance with Directive 2007/46/EC and for ensuring conformity of production.

(18)

Manufacturers should have flexibility to decide how to meet their targets under this Regulation and should be allowed to average emissions over their new vehicle fleet rather than having to respect CO2 targets for each individual vehicle. Manufacturers should therefore be required to ensure that the average specific emission for all the new light commercial vehicles registered in the Union for which they are responsible does not exceed the average of the emissions targets for those vehicles. This requirement should be phased in between 2014 and 2017 in order to facilitate its introduction. This is consistent with the lead times given and the duration of the phase-in period set in Regulation (EC) No 443/2009.

(19)

In order to ensure that targets reflect the particularities of small and niche manufacturers and are consistent with the manufacturer’s reduction potential, alternative emission reduction targets should be set for such manufacturers, taking into account the technological potential of a given manufacturer’s vehicles to reduce their specific emissions of CO2 and consistently with the characteristics of the market segments concerned. This derogation should be covered by the review of the specific emission targets in Annex I, to be completed by the beginning of 2013 at the latest.

(20)

The Union strategy to reduce CO2 emissions from passenger cars and light commercial vehicles established an integrated approach with a view to reaching the Union target of 120 g CO2/km by 2012, while also presenting a longer-term vision of further emission reductions. Regulation (EC) No 443/2009 substantiates this longer-term view by setting a target of 95 g CO2/km as average emissions for the new car fleet. In order to ensure consistency with that approach and to provide planning certainty for the industry, a long-term target for the specific emissions of CO2 of light commercial vehicles in 2020 should be set.

(21)

In order to provide flexibility for manufacturers in meeting their emission targets under this Regulation, manufacturers may agree to form a pool on an open, transparent and non-discriminatory basis. Where a pool is formed, individual manufacturer’s targets should be replaced by a joint target for the pool which should be attained collectively by the members of the pool.

(22)

The specific emissions of CO2 of completed vehicles should be allocated to the manufacturer of the base vehicle.

(23)

In order to ensure that the values of CO2 emissions and fuel efficiency of completed vehicles are representative, the Commission should come forward with a specific procedure and consider, where appropriate, reviewing the type-approval legislation.

(24)

A robust compliance mechanism is necessary in order to ensure that the targets under this Regulation are met.

(25)

The specific emissions of CO2 from new light commercial vehicles are measured on a harmonised basis in the Union according to the methodology laid down in Regulation (EC) No 715/2007. To minimise the administrative burden of the scheme, the compliance should be measured by reference to data on registrations of new vehicles in the Union collected by Member States and reported to the Commission. To ensure the consistency of the data used to assess compliance, the rules for the collection and reporting of this data should be harmonised as far as possible.

(26)

Directive 2007/46/EC requires that manufacturers issue a certificate of conformity for each new light commercial vehicle and that Member States permit the registration and entry into service of a new light commercial vehicle only if it is accompanied by a valid certificate of conformity. Data collected by Member States should be consistent with the certificate of conformity issued by the manufacturer of the light commercial vehicle and should be based on this document only. There should be a Union standard database for certificate of conformity data. It should be used as a single reference to enable Member Sates to maintain more easily their registration data when vehicles are newly registered.

(27)

Manufacturers’ compliance with the targets under this Regulation should be assessed at Union level. Manufacturers whose average specific emissions of CO2 exceed those permitted under this Regulation should pay an excess emissions premium with respect to each calendar year from 1 January 2014. The premium should be modulated as a function of the extent to which manufacturers fail to comply with their target. In order to ensure consistency, the premium mechanism should be similar to the one set in Regulation (EC) No 443/2009. The amounts of the excess emissions premium should be considered as revenue for the general budget of the European Union.

(28)

Any national measure that Member States may maintain or introduce in accordance with Article 193 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union (TFEU) should not, in consideration of the purpose of and procedures established in this Regulation, impose additional or more stringent penalties on manufacturers who fail to meet their targets under this Regulation.

(29)

This Regulation should be without prejudice to the full application of Union competition rules.

(30)

New modalities should be considered for reaching the long-term target, in particular the slope of the curve, the utility parameter and the excess emissions premium scheme.

(31)

The speed of road vehicles has a strong influence on their fuel consumption and CO2 emissions. In addition, in the absence of speed limitation for light commercial vehicles, it is possible that there is an element of competition as regards top speed which could lead to oversized powertrains and associated inefficiencies in slower operating conditions. It is therefore appropriate to investigate the feasibility of extending the scope of Council Directive 92/6/EEC of 10 February 1992 on the installation and use of speed limitation devices for certain categories of motor vehicles in the Community (11), with the aim of including light commercial vehicles covered in this Regulation.

(32)

In order to ensure uniform conditions for the implementation of this Regulation, in particular for the adoption of detailed rules for the monitoring and reporting of average emissions, namely the collection, registration, presentation, transmission, calculation and communication of data on average emissions, and the application of the requirements set out in Annex II, as well as for the adoption of detailed arrangements for the collection of excess emissions premiums and of detailed provisions for the procedure to approve innovative technologies, implementing powers should be conferred on the Commission. Those powers should be exercised in accordance with Regulation (EU) No 182/2011 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 16 February 2011 laying down the rules and general principles concerning mechanisms for control by Member States of the Commission’s exercise of implementing powers (12).

(33)

The Commission should be empowered to adopt delegated acts in accordance with Article 290 TFEU to amend the monitoring and reporting requirements laid down in Annex II in the light of the experience of the application of this Regulation, to adjust the figure of M0 referred to in Annex I to the average mass of new light commercial vehicles in the previous three calendar years, to establish rules regarding the interpretation of the eligibility criteria for derogations, on the content of applications for a derogation and on the content and assessment of programmes for the reduction of specific emissions of CO2, as well as to adapt the formulae set out in Annex I in order to reflect any change in the regulatory test procedure for the measurement of specific CO2 emissions. It is of particular importance that the Commission carry out appropriate consultations during its preparatory work, including at expert level.

(34)

Since the objective of this Regulation, namely the establishment of CO2 emissions performance requirements for new light commercial vehicles, cannot be achieved by the Member States, and can therefore, by reason of its scale and effects, be better achieved at Union level, the Union may adopt measures, in accordance with the principle of subsidiarity as set out in Article 5 of the Treaty on European Union. In accordance with the principle of proportionality, as set out in that Article, this Regulation does not go beyond what is necessary in order to achieve that objective,

(a)

‘average specific emissions of CO2’ means, in relation to a manufacturer, the average of the specific emissions of CO2 of all light commercial vehicles of which it is the manufacturer;

(b)

‘certificate of conformity’ means the certificate referred to in Article 18 of Directive 2007/46/EC;

(c)

‘completed vehicle’ means a vehicle where type-approval is granted following completion of a process of multi-stage type-approval in accordance with Directive 2007/46/EC;

(d)

‘complete vehicle’ means any vehicle which does not need to be completed in order to meet the relevant technical requirements of Directive 2007/46/EC;

(e)

‘base vehicle’ means any vehicle which is used at the initial stage of a multi-stage type-approval process;

(f)

‘manufacturer’ means the person or body responsible to the approval authority for all aspects of the EC type-approval procedure in accordance with Directive 2007/46/EC and for ensuring conformity of production;

(g)

‘mass’ means the mass of the vehicle with bodywork in running order as stated in the certificate of conformity and defined in Section 2.6 of Annex I to Directive 2007/46/EC;

(h)

‘specific emissions of CO2’ means the emissions of a light commercial vehicle measured in accordance with Regulation (EC) No 715/2007 and specified as the CO2 mass emission (combined) in the certificate of conformity of the complete or completed vehicle;

(i)

‘specific emissions target’ means, in relation to a manufacturer, the average of the indicative specific emissions of CO2 determined in accordance with Annex I in respect of each new light commercial vehicle for which it is the manufacturer, or, if the manufacturer is granted a derogation in accordance with Article 11, the specific emissions target determined according to that derogation;

(j)

‘footprint’ means the average track width multiplied by the wheelbase as stated in the certificate of conformity and defined in Sections 2.1 and 2.3 of Annex I to Directive 2007/46/EC;

(k)

‘payload’ means the difference between the technically permissible maximum laden mass pursuant to Annex II to Directive 2007/46/EC and the mass of the vehicle.

(a)

undertakings in which the manufacturer has, directly or indirectly:

(b)

undertakings which directly or indirectly have, over the manufacturer, the rights or powers listed in point (a);

(c)

undertakings in which an undertaking referred to in point (b) has, directly or indirectly, the rights or powers listed in point (a);

(d)

undertakings in which the manufacturer together with one or more of the undertakings referred to in points (a), (b) or (c), or in which two or more of the latter undertakings, jointly have the rights or powers listed in point (a);

(e)

undertakings in which the rights or the powers listed in point (a) are jointly held by the manufacturer or one or more of its connected undertakings referred to in points (a) to (d) and one or more third parties.

—

70 % in 2014,

—

75 % in 2015,

—

80 % in 2016,

—

100 % from 2017 onwards.

—

3,5 light commercial vehicles in 2014,

—

3,5 light commercial vehicles in 2015,

—

2,5 light commercial vehicles in 2016,

—

1,5 light commercial vehicles in 2017,

—

1 light commercial vehicle from 2018.

(a)

the manufacturers who will be included in the pool;

(b)

the manufacturer nominated as the pool manager who will be the contact point for the pool and will be responsible for paying any excess emissions premium imposed on the pool in accordance with Article 9;

(c)

evidence that the pool manager will be able to fulfil the obligations under point (b).

(a)

the average specific emissions of CO2;

(b)

the specific emissions target;

(c)

the total number of vehicles registered.

(a)

the average specific emissions of CO2 in the preceding calendar year;

(b)

the specific emissions target in the preceding calendar year;

(c)

the difference between its average specific emissions of CO2 in the preceding calendar year and its specific emissions target for that year.

(a)

from 2014 until 2018:

(b)

from 2019:

(Excess emissions × EUR 95) × number of new light commercial vehicles.

—

‘excess emissions’ means the positive number of grams per kilometre by which a manufacturer’s average specific emissions of CO2, taking into account CO2 emissions reductions due to innovative technologies approved in accordance with Article 12, exceeded its specific emissions target in the calendar year or part thereof to which the obligation under Article 4 applies, rounded to the nearest three decimal places, and

—

‘number of new light commercial vehicles’ means the number of new light commercial vehicles of which it is the manufacturer and which were registered in that period according to the phase-in criteria as set out in Article 4.

(a)

its specific emission target for the preceding calendar year;

(b)

its average specific emissions of CO2 in the preceding calendar year;

(c)

the difference between its average specific emissions of CO2 in the preceding calendar year and its specific emissions target in that year;

(d)

the average specific emissions of CO2 for all new light commercial vehicles registered in the Union in the previous calendar year;

(e)

the average mass for all new light commercial vehicles registered in the Union in the preceding calendar year.

(a)

is not part of a group of connected manufacturers; or

(b)

is part of a group of connected manufacturers that is responsible in total for fewer than 22 000 new light commercial vehicles registered in the Union per calendar year; or

(c)

is part of a group of connected manufacturers but operates its own production facilities and design centre.

(a)

the name of, and contact person for, the manufacturer;

(b)

evidence that the manufacturer is eligible for a derogation under paragraph 1;

(c)

details of the light commercial vehicles which it manufactures including the mass and specific emissions of CO2 of those light commercial vehicles; and

(d)

a specific emissions target consistent with its reduction potential, including the economic and technological potential to reduce its specific emissions of CO2 and taking into account the characteristics of the market for the type of light commercial vehicle manufactured.

(a)

the supplier or manufacturer must be accountable for the CO2 savings achieved through the use of the innovative technologies;

(b)

the innovative technologies must make a verified contribution to CO2 reduction;

(c)

the innovative technologies must not be covered by the standard test cycle CO2 measurement or by mandatory provisions due to complementary additional measures complying with the 10 g CO2/km reduction referred to in Article 1 of Regulation (EC) No 443/2009 or be mandatory under other provisions of Union law.

—

subject to confirmation of its feasibility on the basis of updated impact assessment results, the modalities for reaching, by the year 2020, a long-term target of 147 g CO2/km in a cost-effective manner, and

—

the aspects of the implementation of that target, including the excess emissions premium.