Vehicles

FEAD welcomes the Council’s adoption of a General Approach on the proposed End-of-Life Vehicles Regulation (ELVR), but underlines several problematic clauses that need to be remedied during the Trilogue. While acknowledging the importance of progress in the legislative process, FEAD warns that diluting minimum recycled content targets and timelines undermines the Regulation’s ability to deliver true circularity in the automotive sector.

Today, Europe’s Environment Ministers bowed to pressure from the automotive industry by voting to weaken a crucial regulation to make the sector more circular, warn environmental NGOs.

In July 2023, the European Commission adopted its proposal for revising and merging the End-of-Life Vehicles Directive and the 3 R Type-Approval Directive into a Regulation on Vehicle Design and Management of End-of-Life Vehicles. The proposal aims to strengthen the EU single market while reducing the negative environmental impacts linked to the design, production, use, and end-of-life treatment of vehicles and contributing to improving the circularity and sustainability of the automotive and recycling sectors.

The European Commission has fined 15 major car manufacturers and the European Automobiles Manufacturers’ Association (ACEA) a total of around €458 million for participating in a long-lasting cartel concerning end-of-life vehicle recycling. Mercedes-Benz was not fined, as it revealed the cartel to the Commission under the leniency programme. All companies admitted their involvement in the cartel and agreed to settle the case.

As the automotive industry accelerates its transition towards electric vehicles (EVs), the focus on sustainable practices has never been more critical. Central to this evolution is the lifecycle management of EV batteries, which poses both opportunities and challenges.

The European Parliament’s draft report on the End-of-Life Vehicles (ELV) Regulation, currently discussed, raises serious concerns about its impact on circularity in the automotive sector.

Vehicles have long been considered a best practice for repairability. This is no coincidence but owed to strong and consumer-friendly regulations such as the Motor Vehicle Block Exemption Regulation, ensuring a level playing field and fair competition between manufacturers and independent after market businesses.

Ambitious recycled plastic content targets are essential to increase the circularity of the automotive sector by bridging design and end-of-life vehicle treatment and driving demand for circular and low-carbon materials.

In light of the ongoing discussions on the End-of-Life Vehicles Regulation (ELVR), EuRIC calls on the legislators to maintain a high level of ambition and bring forward recycled content targets for plastics in vehicles.