The European Parliament has taken a new step in the processing of legislation aimed at simplifying the rules that apply to the automotive industry. The Members of the European Parliament want to extend to the automotive sector the filter of the reduction in administrative burdens and the modernization of the regulatory framework for manufacturers, at a time when the European industry is facing a profound technological transformation and growing international competitive pressure.
The review introduces new categories for small, high-efficiency electric vehicles, while updating certain safety requirements. It also incorporates changes to the implementation timetable for some environmental obligations and opens up greater flexibility for manufacturers in relation to plug-in hybrid vehicles and emission standards.
The text, which legislators intend to finalize during the November plenary session, seeks to reconcile transport decarbonization goals with the need to preserve European industrial capacity. To that end, it introduces specific incentives for community production and establishes a framework to drive the electrification of corporate fleets.
More flexibility for manufacturers and new safety requirements
Among the changes introduced during the negotiations is an update to the safety requirements for vehicles. Specifically, an amendment has been introduced to promote the installation of child presence detection systems inside cars, as well as the availability of accessible door handles in emergency situations.
The first of these initiatives was promoted by Spanish socialist Member of the European Parliament Nicolás González Casares and is intended to prevent the deaths of minors who are left forgotten inside vehicles, especially during episodes of high temperatures. "We have seen in Spain and Europe many news stories about children who are forgotten in their cars, who die, and this cannot happen when we already have the technology to prevent it," the socialist argued at the end of the votes. The proposal was approved with 105 votes in favor, 39 against, and 21 abstentions in the corresponding parliamentary commission.
In parallel, legislators propose introducing new categories within the European framework for electric vehicles. The first includes the small electric vehicles, defined as passenger cars with a maximum length of 4.2 meters manufactured in the EU in accordance with the criteria of the Industrial Acceleration Law. Joining them are the high-efficiency electric vehicles, also produced in Community territory and subject to demanding energy consumption standards, as well as the zero-emission vans manufactured in the EU. The revision also includes a mechanism of supercredits in the update of the CO₂ emission performance standards. The aim is to introduce regulatory incentives that favor the development and commercialization of certain electric vehicles, especially those that help strengthen European industrial production.
The European Commission will be responsible for specifying the technical requirements before the end of 2027 to ensure that electric and plug-in hybrid vehicles can fully interoperate with the electricity grid and charging infrastructures.
Plug-in hybrids and Euro 7: changes in the schedule
One of the central elements of the revision is the flexibility it introduces in the regulatory treatment of plug-in hybrids. The CO₂ emissions calculation method for these vehicles manufactured in the EU will remain unchanged until the end of 2029. From 2030 onward, the methodology will be updated annually using real driving data.
The modification is intended to prevent manufacturers from having to face immediate changes in the measurement criteria while adapting their ranges and production processes to the new requirements. Along the same lines of increased flexibility, the text includes an 18-month postponement in the application of Euro 7 regulations for heavy vehicles. The result is a framework with greater room for industry to adapt, both in compliance schedules and in certain technical requirements. Politically, the revision also leaves room for certain gasoline, diesel, and hybrid vehicles that meet the relevant regulatory conditions to continue being marketed, without introducing an immediate and generalized ban on these technologies.
Lawmakers justify the changes by the need to protect the competitiveness of European manufacturers and prevent technological transition from translating into a loss of industrial capacity. "These measures seek to safeguard the competitiveness of European car manufacturers, protect regional employment, and ensure that sustainable transport remains accessible," the European Parliament explains. One of the speakers in the file, the MEP Michael Bloss, defended after the vote that the industry is going through a "period of transformation" and that legislative work should be aimed at "bringing clarity and certainty to planning amid the chaos".
From the European People's Party, the Spanish Susana Solís celebrated that the agreement will make it possible to gain room for adaptation without giving up the sector's transformation. "It's not going back to the past; it's gaining competitiveness without dismantling the industrial capacity we have: our factories, our engineers, and component suppliers, which provide direct employment to 1.7 million people in the EU," she said. In fact, the Conservatives had argued during the negotiations that the package should offer sufficient flexibility to continue marketing certain combustion and hybrid vehicles that meet the established requirements. Sources from the parliamentary group led by the German Manfred Weber also highlight as an outcome of the negotiations that, when it comes to company cars, a binding electrification target for Member States has not been incorporated.
Made in Europe
The other major block of the proposal focuses on corporate fleets. The aim is to speed up the introduction of clean vehicles into companies’ vehicle fleets, which represent a majority share of new registrations in the European Union and therefore constitute a relevant lever for accelerating the renewal of the automotive market.
The initiative will apply to newly registered passenger cars and vans acquired by large European companies. The scope of application covers those companies with more than 250 employees and revenues of more than 50 million euros. Certain vehicles linked to essential security functions and the provision of public services will be excluded. These include those intended for police work, ambulances, firefighters and civil protection, as well as those employed in the maintenance of essential services, military use or certain specific industrial work.
The proposal also incorporates a European manufacturing criterion to channel public aid. Under the principle of the so-called 'Made in EU', from 2028 Member States will not be able to grant public financial support to corporate vehicles that are not zero or low-emission and that do not meet the requirements for Community manufacturing. The restrictions cover different support instruments, from direct subsidies to renting and leasing arrangements, through tax advantages, insurance or aid linked to charging infrastructure. In subsequent years, public support will be reserved exclusively for zero-emission vehicles manufactured in Europe.
The logic of this provision is twofold: on the one hand, to use the purchasing power of large companies to accelerate the uptake of less polluting vehicles; on the other, to ensure that public money devoted to that transformation contributes to strengthening industrial production within the Union. In any event, the file reflects the tensions running through European industrial and climate policy. The European Parliament seeks to keep on course toward zero-emissions mobility, but introduces margins of flexibility in timetables, technologies and compliance conditions to prevent regulatory requirements from undermining the competitiveness of Community manufacturers.