Euro 7 makes life bitter for e-cars

German drivers are used to regulations, as is the automotive industry. At the latest every few years, new guideline values ​​have to be met, because then there will be a new emissions standard. Euro 7 is already casting its shadow and from 2025 it will probably no longer only make life difficult for combustion engines.

Emissions standard without emissions? Euro 7 also applies to electric cars

With the new emission standard Euro 7 are explicit for the first time Electric car regulations contain. Although, as is well known, they are distinguished by the fact that they do not emit any exhaust gases. But if the new standard starts as planned in 2025, the new electric vehicles will also have to prove that they are doing enough for the environment. Because even without an exhaust, an electric car still blows something into the air.

It is primarily about particulate matterwhich occurs as small abrasion when braking, as well as around microplastics, which detaches from the tires in the smallest amounts due to the friction and thus gets into the air. The substances pollute the environment and can also contribute to health damage in humans. Therefore, the limit values ​​for these loads are specified with Euro 7. According to the EU, it is the first regulation worldwide for very fine particles with a diameter of less than 10 nanometers.

According to the current status, the new Euro 7 standard should allow a load of 7 milligrams per kilometer driven of the smallest particles (source: mirror) and apply until 2035. From then on, no new cars with internal combustion engines should be allowed to be registered in the EU. One reason for the regulations, which explicitly also refer to electric cars, was given when introducing euro 7 also: With e-cars accounting for a growing proportion of vehicles on Europe’s roads, brakes and tires are “on the way to becoming the main sources of particle emissions from vehicles,” according to a spokesman for the EU Commission.

Electric car or combustion engine? This is often a question of price:

Criticism of emissions standard: Euro 7 becomes a toothless tiger

Environmentalists say the new rules don’t go far enough. It is criticized, for example, that the Limits too low to build up pressure for the development of better technology. For combustion cars, almost everything will remain the same anyway. This should make combustion engines affordable in the future. Before Euro 7 can start in 2025, the standard must be confirmed by other EU bodies.