New cars in the European Union will need to be designed for recycling, and non-functional vehicles will no longer be able to be exported.

New cars sold in the European Union will need to be designed and produced in such a way that their parts and materials can be reused, recycled, and recovered more easily. The Council of the European Union has definitively adopted the regulation on vehicle circularity and the management of end-of-life vehicles, the last step of the ordinary legislative procedure.

In short

The new rules introduce circularity requirements throughout the entire life cycle of the vehicle, from design and production to final treatment as waste.

In six years from the entry into force, at least 15% of the plastic used in the manufacture of new vehicles will have to come from recycling, and in ten years the target will be 25%.

At least 20% of the recycled plastic used in new vehicles will have to come from end-of-life vehicles.

Vehicles that become waste will not be able to be exported or legally resold as second-hand cars, and used cars that are no longer fit for circulation will not be able to be exported.

The regulation aims to reduce material loss in a sector that consumes large quantities of raw materials. In the European Union, over 6 million end-of-life vehicles are generated annually, and improper management of these produces pollution and losses of tons of materials that could be recovered. The automotive industry is one of the most resource-intensive industries in the EU and is among the largest consumers of primary raw materials.

The new rules shift responsibility earlier in the industrial chain. The vehicle will no longer be treated merely as a product sold and then abandoned at the end of its life, but as an object that must be thought of from the beginning for disassembly, reuse, and material recovery. This change can influence the design of parts, the choice of materials, the assembly method, and the documentation that manufacturers provide to those who treat vehicles at the end of their life.

Targets for recycled plastic are among the clearest new obligations. Six years after the regulation comes into force, at least 15% of the plastic used in the manufacture of new vehicles will have to come from recycling. After ten years, the target will rise to 25%. Additionally, at least 20% of this recycled plastic will have to be recovered from end-of-life vehicles, creating a direct link between old cars and the production of new ones.

This requirement can change the automotive recycling economy. If materials recovered from old vehicles must re-enter new vehicles, the value of parts and collected plastic increases, and illegal dismantling becomes harder to justify economically. At the same time, manufacturers will have a stronger incentive to use materials that can be identified, separated, and recycled at reasonable costs.

Manufacturers will become financially and organizationally responsible for the entire life cycle of vehicles, including when they become waste. Extended producer responsibility will cover design for circularity, free take-back of end-of-life vehicles, and their proper treatment. This means that a larger part of the final costs of the vehicle will be linked to the one who puts it on the market, not just the last owner or dismantling operators.

The regulation also addresses the phenomenon of "disappeared" vehicles, i.e., cars that are illegally dismantled or exported without entering authorized treatment systems. Once a vehicle meets the criteria to be considered an end-of-life vehicle, it must be treated in an authorized facility and can no longer be exported or legally resold as a second-hand vehicle.

The rule also has an external dimension. The export of used vehicles that are no longer fit for circulation will be prohibited. The European Union thus wants to avoid transferring pollution to third countries and to keep valuable materials that can be recovered within its territory. Cars that can no longer circulate will no longer be able to leave the European market as simple second-hand products if they should actually be treated as waste.

The new rules will fully apply to passenger cars and light commercial vehicles. Heavy vehicles, such as trucks, motorcycles, and special-purpose vehicles, both small and heavy, will be covered by a more limited set of requirements, mainly to ensure their proper treatment at the end of life.

The regulation will start to apply two years after its entry into force. The European Commission will need to complete, one year after the regulation comes into force, a feasibility study regarding future targets for other materials. These may include recycled glass, aluminum, magnesium, and critical raw materials, important for automotive production, electrification, and the industrial technologies of the green transition.

Existing rules have improved the collection of end-of-life vehicles and increased their recycling to about 85% of the materials they contain. However, the Council shows that additional measures are needed for issues related to vehicle design, recycled content, and the export of polluting vehicles.

For the European automotive industry, the regulation comes at a time of simultaneous pressure: electrification, high costs, global competition, access to raw materials, and climate requirements. For consumers and communities, the effect will be seen in the way cars are repaired, dismantled, recycled, and taken out of circulation. A car that can no longer be used will no longer need to disappear from the system but will become a source of materials for more circular production.

https://2eu.brussels/ro/stiri/masinile-noi-din-uniunea-europeana-vor-trebui-proiectate-pentru-reciclare-iar-vehiculele-nefunctionale-nu-vor-mai-putea-fi-exportate