Not enough time
In principle, the Euro 7 emission standard will be introduced in mid-2025. However, Audi thinks that is much too fast and Skoda even threatens to close factories if the norm arises.
Audi CEO Markus Duesmann wants a delay for the Euro 7 emissions standard, because there would not be enough time for car manufacturers to prepare now. “This period is simply not long enough,” he says, according to Automotive News. Among other things, simply certifying every execution in the portfolio takes a lot of time. The development and testing of new particulate filters and catalysts would also take more time than there is now.
According to Skoda, also part of the Volkswagen group, Euro 7 threatens to have even greater consequences. The Czechs argue that the Euro standard would make it necessary to stop all compact models, namely the Fabia, the Scala and the Kamiq. It simply wouldn’t pay to get those models ready for the new rules, which would allow Skoda to close an entire factory. According to Martin Jahn, Head of Marketing and Sales at Skoda, that would cost at least 3,000 jobs.
We do not only hear complaints about Euro 7 within Volkswagen. Mercedes previously also expressed negative views about the plans, as did industry association ACEA.
Clean longer
‘Euro 7’ does not bring too rigorous changes in the field of car emissions, but significant ones. For example, the emission standards that are currently still differentiated per fuel will be brought into line at the strictest level, which means 60 milligrams per kilometer in the case of NOx. Cars must also continue to meet those standards for longer: 10 years and 200,000 kilometers instead of half that. Euro 7 also looks at emissions caused by tires and brakes for the first time, so electric cars are not blamed. Euro standards are not about CO2 emissions (for which there are other standards), but about the emission of harmful substances such as NOx (nitrogen oxides).
– Thanks for information from Autoweek.nl