Ok a horn, the price is not right. ACEA, the association that represents most of the vehicle manufacturers operating in the Old Continent, has released the data from the analysis “Regulatory costs of Euro 7 – Findings from an industry survey”, carried out by Frontier Economics with which openly contests the accounts of the European Commission on the repercussions of the adoption of the Euro 7 standards on polluting emissions.
The estimates of the Brussels experts speak of an impact of between 180 and 450 euros for cars and vans and 2,800 for industrial vehicles and buses. The study – conducted on the basis of assessments by independent experts – instead highlights higher costs (exclusively direct production costs, which therefore would not be passed on to consumers in these proportions, who are probably called to pay even more) equal to approximately 2,000 euros for machines and light commercial vehicles and almost 12,000 euros for heavy vehicles. The gap is between 4 and 10 times higher: the bill would be paid by motorists, already today grappling with economic difficulties that are slowing down the renewal of the vehicle fleet. The Italian one has a seniority higher than the European average and is combined with a purchasing power that has even been declining for about twenty years. In a note, the ACEA then recalls that “in addition to the direct costs, the Euro 7 proposal will involve indirect costs, such as the increase in fuel consumption”. “During the life of a vehicle – continues the document – fuel costs could increase by 3.5%, equal to 20,000 euros more for long-haul trucks and 650 euros more for cars and vans” . According to forecasts, compared to the rules in force for such an expense, with Euro 7, NOx emissions from road transport would drop by just a further 5% for cars and vans and by only 2% for trucks.
The dispute over standards between car manufacturers and the EU political class is bitter: for some time the former have been pointing out that already today, with the Euro 6/VI standards, “the EU has the most complete and strictest standards in the world in terms of polluting emissions (such as NOx and particulate matter)”. According to the ACEA “exhaust emissions are already at a barely measurable level thanks to state-of-the-art vehicle technology”. “The European automotive industry is committed to further reducing emissions for the benefit of the climate, the environment and health – observed Sigrid de Vries, director general of ACEA – however, the Euro 7 proposal is simply not the right way to do so, as it would have an extremely low environmental impact at an extremely high cost”.
