Commission Regulation (EU) 2016/1718Show full title

Commission Regulation (EU) 2016/1718

of 20 September 2016

amending Regulation (EU) No 582/2011 with respect to emissions from heavy-duty vehicles as regards the provisions on testing by means of portable emission measurement systems (PEMS) and the procedure for the testing of the durability of replacement pollution control devices

(Text with EEA relevance)

THE EUROPEAN COMMISSION,

Having regard to the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union,

Having regard to Regulation (EC) No 595/2009 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 18 June 2009 on type-approval of motor vehicles and engines with respect to emissions from heavy-duty vehicles (Euro VI) and on access to vehicle repair and maintenance information and amending Regulation (EC) No 715/2007 and Directive 2007/46/EC and repealing Directives 80/1269/EEC, 2005/55/EC and 2005/78/EC(1), and in particular Article 4(3), Article 5(4) and Article 12 thereof,

Whereas:

(1) In-service conformity testing represents one of the building blocks of the type-approval procedure and allows for the verification of the performance of emission control systems during the useful lifetime of vehicles. In accordance with Commission Regulation (EU) No 582/2011(2), the tests are performed by means of portable emission measurement systems (PEMS) which assess the emissions in the normal operations of use. The PEMS approach is equally applied to verify off-cycle emissions during the type-approval certification.

(2) Regulation (EU) No 582/2011 states that any additional requirements with respect to the off-cycle in-use emissions testing procedure should be introduced after the assessment of the test procedure specified in that Regulation.

(3) The Commission has therefore performed an in-depth analysis of the testing procedure. That analysis has identified a number of shortfalls which undermine the efficiency of the European type-approval legislation and need to be remedied in order to ensure the appropriate level of environmental protection.

(4) Emission performance of vehicles in a warm-up period is currently not assessed under the type-approval demonstration test or under the in-service conformity test. In order to address the existing knowledge gap and to prepare a new testing procedure for cold start operations, a monitoring phase during which data from type-approval and in-service conformity tests will be collected should be launched.

(5) In accordance with Regulation (EU) No 582/2011, replacement pollution control devices are to be type-approved in accordance with Euro VI emission requirements once the specific durability testing requirements are introduced in that Regulation.

(6) It is therefore necessary to lay down a procedure which will properly assess the durability of those replacement parts entering the Union market and to ensure that they meet environmental requirements compatible with those set for similar systems produced as original vehicles' parts.

(7) A test procedure based on the accelerated ageing of replacement pollution control devices due to thermal and lubricant consumption effects meets the objective of addressing durability of replacement pollution control devices in an accurate and objective manner and is not excessively burdensome for the industry.

(8) Regulation (EU) No 582/2011 sets out requirements related to the measures that need to be introduced by vehicle manufacturers in order to prevent tampering with emission control systems. Those requirements should effectively address the most common means of tampering without imposing an excessive burden on the industry.

(9) References to international standards in Regulation (EU) No 582/2011 should be updated.

(10) In order to ensure a sufficient lead time for the vehicle manufacturers to modify their products in accordance with the new requirement on the power threshold, that requirement should take effect on 1 September 2018 for new types and on 1 September 2019 for all new vehicles.

(11) It is appropriate that the new requirements for the in-service testing do not apply retroactively to engines and vehicles which have not been approved in accordance with those requirements. Therefore, the new provisions set out in Annex II shall only apply to the in-service conformity testing of new types of engines and vehicles which have been approved in accordance with the amended version of the Regulation (EU) No 582/2011.

(12) Regulation (EU) No 582/2011 should therefore be amended accordingly.

(13) The measures provided for in this Regulation are in accordance with the opinion of the Technical Committee — Motor vehicles,

HAS ADOPTED THIS REGULATION:

(1)

OJ L 188, 18.7.2009, p. 1.

(2)

Commission Regulation (EU) No 582/2011 of 25 May 2011 implementing and amending Regulation (EC) No 595/2009 of the European Parliament and of the Council with respect to emissions from heavy duty vehicles (Euro VI) and amending Annexes I and III to Directive 2007/46/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council (OJ L 167, 25.6.2011, p. 1).