The next Euro7 standard could “make a thermal car as expensive as an electric one”. Problems Vincent Koby, director of Citroën. “Euro 7 is likely to significantly increase the cost of cars,” says Jean-Philippe Imparato, the new head of Alfa Romeo (Stellantis) and former director of Peugeot. It will be “1,000 extra euros,” says Gilles Le Borne, technical director of Renault. “The Euro 7 standard in its current form goes beyond the simple laws of physics! It would simply make it impossible to continue producing thermal cars,” Carlos Tavares said a year ago in an interview with the publication. Figaro.
Stellantis’ general manager elaborated: “We cannot be content with waving the red flag of the urgency of global warming and destroying the industry we rely on precisely to combat it!” The requirements “will lead to an increase in the cost of vehicles up to 30% in the case of entry-level vehicles,” emphasizes the PFA (Platform Automotive). Moreover, the entry-level subcompact car niche has largely disappeared in recent years. Production of Opel Karl, Ford Ka, Citroën C1, Peugeot 108 was stopped. “Renault Twingo will not be replaced,” Luca De Meo, general manager of Renault, recently assured. Only Dacia Sandero and Fiat Panda still resist.
Judgment dated 20 July.
The impact of the new standard “will seriously affect the price appeal of these (entry-level) vehicles, pushing consumers into the used car market. The market for new cars stimulated in this way would be counterproductive in relation to air pollution control policies,” the PFA further points out. A panel of experts called Clove (Ultra-Low Vehicle Emissions Consortium) produced an extremely tough first example in April 2021 that stunned the automotive industry. The Commission on these grounds will prepare a proposal, which will be made public on July 20 next year. Clearly, manufacturers are facing these new restrictions. Leaders in Italy, Germany or France are also not happy …
“I do not believe that this proposal will pass through the Parliament and the Council without changes. Because, in my opinion, France is afraid that the color of the vests will change from yellow to orange,” predicted Marian-Jean Marinescu, a member of the European Parliament. Union (EPP) at the Public Senate at the end of October last year. Economy Minister Bruno Le Maire feared in the same program that the Euro 7 standard introduced by the Commission was impossible for manufacturers and detrimental to the automotive industry. Green MEP Karima Delly thinks “it’s doable”!
Mandatory hybridization
This new standard targets both driving emissions in certification cycles and new pollutant emission ceilings – nothing to do with CO2, which is a greenhouse gas. “In the current state (Euro 6d standard applicable today), we estimate that emissions (when homologated) already cover over 98% of our customers’ normal driving conditions. The remaining marginal part (2%) represents atypical conditions of use. (extreme temperatures, altitude, sports driving, etc.) that are very rare,” explains PFA. Introducing the same level of decontamination requirements in all conditions of use without any differences would be “useless and likely to result in additional technology costs, so the thermal motorization proposal may disappear in the short term,” PFA insists.
Regarding the new emission limit values, the PFA believes that they are “difficult to measure” with PEMS measurement systems. They are “incompatible with measurement uncertainties”. Euro 7 “will force the hybridization of thermal cars to … warm up the engines,” said Gilles Le Borne in an interview with the publication Problems at the Munich Motor Show in September 2021. Because these standards will have very high requirements for cleaning vehicles from the cold. And this is after three stages of the introduction of Euro 6 standards since 2014, which have already become quite complex and, therefore, have increased the cost of vehicles. “To say that these standards will not affect car prices is ridiculous,” Gilles Le Borne said.
Utilities are now targeted
The future standard will also target utilities. However, the panel “does not know that general purpose vehicles have specific uses (side load, type of route, cold or hot engine start, etc.) that need to be taken into account in order to establish a procedure and related limits,” denounces the automotive sector. This requires an “Euro 7 effective date differentiated for light commercial vehicles of at least three years or subject to specific emission limit values” adapted for these vehicles. Dates scheduled in advance for the entry into force of the Euro 7 rules, September 1, 2025 for new vehicle types and September 1, 2026 for all passenger car models. For light commercial vehicles, the deadline is September 1, 2026 for new types, September 1, 2027 for all vehicles. The European Commission also announced on July 14 that it will phase out petrol and diesel engines from 2035. The conditions, accompanied by very heavy fines, are forcing the industry to reinvent the automobile. And this is therefore independent of stringent pollution protection standards. The cost of an electric vehicle “by 2030 will be another 4-5000 euros higher than that of a thermal model,” agrees Alexandre Marian, deputy director of Alix Partners.