|
Brussels, |
|
EU tightens road-safety and registration rules—electric vehicles included. Our policy recommendations.
EU’s stricter rules will affect 250 million vehicles—including electric cars. The directive still needs approval from the European Parliament and national governments. Legislators are urged to avoid another market shock.
The European Commission has unveiled a sweeping “Roadworthiness Package” that promises to make Europe’s highways cleaner and far safer. By 2050 the plan could save 7 000 lives, prevent 65 000 serious injuries and crack down on odometer fraud, all while moving your car’s paperwork to a tap-on-screen digital passport.
Brussels, 9 June 2025 – Europe’s ageing car fleet is about to get a high-tech health check. In a bid to hit its “Vision Zero” target of almost no road deaths by 2050, the European Commission yesterday proposed the first overhaul of EU vehicle-testing rules in a decade.
Key to the package is a mandatory annual inspection for cars and vans older than ten years, a group that spews a disproportionate share of harmful exhaust and already makes up more than half of Europe’s 256 million-strong car park.
Electric vehicles won’t be spared: the new rules create a dedicated test for battery health and the software that controls advanced driver-assistance systems. Inspectors will also be armed with ultrafine-particle and NOx probes to sniff out tampered diesel engines and rogue petrol hot-hatches.
The Commission is equally bullish on digital red-tape-slashing. Paper log-books will be replaced by a cross-border-recognised e-certificate, making it easier to register a car in another EU country while closing loopholes for mileage tampering.
Only 16 Member States currently swap odometer data; the proposal makes that the EU default.
Key to the package is a mandatory annual inspection for cars and vans older than ten years, a group that spews a disproportionate share of harmful exhaust and already makes up more than half of Europe’s 256 million-strong car park.
Electric vehicles won’t be spared: the new rules create a dedicated test for battery health and the software that controls advanced driver-assistance systems. Inspectors will also be armed with ultrafine-particle and NOx probes to sniff out tampered diesel engines and rogue petrol hot-hatches.
The Commission is equally bullish on digital red-tape-slashing. Paper log-books will be replaced by a cross-border-recognised e-certificate, making it easier to register a car in another EU country while closing loopholes for mileage tampering.
Only 16 Member States currently swap odometer data; the proposal makes that the EU default.
“We’re harnessing tech to keep families safe and our air clean,” transport EU Commissioner Apostolos Tzitzikostas said, urging MEPs and ministers to fast-track the laws.
