The European Parliament adopted by 677 votes to 4, with 6 abstentions, a legislative resolution on the proposal for a Regulation of the European Parliament and of the Council amending Regulation (EU) No 168/2013 as regards specific measures on L-category end-of-series vehicles in response to the COVID-19 outbreak.

Parliament adopted its position at first reading in accordance with the ordinary legislative procedure, taking over the Commission proposal.

The COVID-19 crisis has caused disruption to the supply chain of critical parts and components for L-category vehicles (motorbikes) and a sizeable drop in demand for those vehicles. This has led to significant delays for manufacturers in clearing their stock of Euro 4 vehicles that, according to Annex IV to Regulation (EU) No 168/2013 of the European Parliament and of the Council, need to be registered before the application of the environmental Euro 5 step on 1 January 2021.

In the context of the current COVID-19 epidemic, the main objective of the proposal is to amend the provisions of Regulation (EU) No 168/2013 relating to the number of end-of-series vehicles in order to allow that vehicles complying with a type of vehicle whose EU type-approval will lose its validity on 1 January 2021 can be made available on the market, registered or put into service as end-of-series vehicles until 31 December 2021.

The number of vehicles benefiting from these specific end-of-series measures should not exceed the number of vehicles of category L Euro 4 that were in stock on 15 March 2020.

Manufacturers wishing to benefit from this derogation should submit a request to the national authority of each Member State in which the vehicles in question are to be made available on the market. The national authority concerned should then decide whether or not to allow the registration of these end-of-series vehicles on its territory and in what quantity.

PURPOSE: to amend the provisions of Regulation (EU) No 168/2013 as regards specific measures on L-category end-of-series vehicles in response to the COVID-19 outbreak.

PROPOSED ACT: Regulation of the European Parliament and of the Council.

ROLE OF THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT: the European Parliament decides in accordance with the ordinary legislative procedure and on an equal footing with the Council.

BACKGROUND: the COVID-19 outbreak has caused a disruption of the supply chain of critical parts and components for L-category vehicles and a sizeable drop in demand for those vehicles. This has led to important delays for manufacturers to clear their stock of Euro 4 vehicles that, according to Regulation (EU) No 168/2013 of the European Parliament and of the Council, need to be registered before the application of the environmental Euro 5 step on 1 January 2021.

Due to the COVID-19 outbreak, motorcycles sales have been highly impacted. Because of Member States authorities’ lockdowns, sales could not take place during the peak season.

According to industry sources, it is estimated that around 553 700 Euro 4 vehicles were in stock in March 2020. During the lockdowns, sales went down by 98% and remained sluggish since then. It is therefore likely that not all Euro 4 vehicles currently in stock will be sold by the end of the year.

The end-of-series provisions set out in Regulation (EU) No 168/2013 allow manufacturers to continue to make available on the market, register or enter into service a limited part of a stock of L-category vehicles which cannot be made available on the market or can no longer be made available on the market, owing to the entry into force of new technical requirements against which those vehicles have not been approved.

Considering the disruption caused by the COVID-19 outbreak, it is apparent that the provisions on end-of-series do not constitute an appropriate mechanism to address the amount of Euro 4 L-category vehicles that manufacturers will have in stock following the application of the environmental Euro 5 step.

CONTENT: in the context of the current COVID-19 epidemic, the main purpose of the proposal amending Regulation (EU) No 168/2013 is to adapt the provisions relating to the number of end-of-series vehicles in order to allow dealers to sell higher amounts of their stock of Euro 4 vehicles in 2021 only.

In order to ensure that the application of these measures is restricted to vehicles that were in stock at the moment of the national lockdowns, the amount of vehicles benefiting from these specific end-of-series measures shall not exceed the number of Euro 4 L-category vehicles that were in stock on 15 March 2020.

This proposal:

- shall not increase pollutant emissions as the flexibility shall be limited to already produced vehicles at the time of the lockdown;

- avoid the need to unnecessarily scrap vehicles that would have been otherwise placed on the market in absence of the crisis;

- shall not postpone the entry into force of the Euro 5 step for all newly produced vehicles on 1 January 2021.