8 End of life vehicles
| (25471)
7532/04
COM(04) 162
| Draft Directive on the type-approval of motor vehicles with regard to their re-usability re-cyclability and recoverability and amending Council Directive 70/156/EEC
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| Legal base | Article 95 EC; co-decision; QMV
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| Document originated | 11 March 2004
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| Deposited in Parliament | 22 March 2004
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| Department | Trade and Industry
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| Basis of consideration | EM of 29 April 2004
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| Previous Committee Report | None
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| To be discussed in Council | Not known
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| Committee's assessment | Politically important
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| Committee's decision | Not cleared; further information requested
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Background
8.1 The End of Life Vehicles Directive[14]
provides for measures intended to prevent waste from vehicles
(i.e. cars — including three-wheeled cars and vans, but
not other vehicles such as buses, heavy goods vehicles, motorcycles
and motor-tricycles), to promote the re-use, recycling and other
forms of recovery of end-of-life vehicles (ELVs) and their components
so as to reduce the disposal of waste, and to improve environmental
performance in all aspects of the life cycle of vehicles, especially
the treatment of ELVs.
8.2 The Type-Approval Directive[15]
provides for a framework of (currently) 58 Directives to constitute
a system of whole-vehicle type-approval for most passenger cars.[16]
The document
8.3 The End of Life Vehicles Directive requires
a type approval standard for new vehicles as regards re-usability,
recyclability and recoverability, stating that vehicles need to
be "re-usable and/or recyclable to a minimum of 85% by weight
per vehicle and are re-usable and/or recoverable to a minimum
of 95% by weight per vehicle." The Commission proposes this
draft Directive, as the 59th under the Type-Approval
Directive, to meet that requirement. The draft Directive would:
- apply to all new vehicles to
be type approved and to all new vehicles already covered by an
approval;
- establish a procedure for a preliminary assessment
of a manufacturer's proposals for re-usability, recyclability
and recoverability against the legislative requirements, granting
a type approval and checking its effective use in prototype vehicles;
- prohibit the re-use of certain components in
new vehicles, having regard to the End of Life Vehicles Directive
requirement that component re-use should be done "without
prejudice to requirements regarding the safety of vehicles and
environmental requirements such as air emissions and noise control";
and
- apply rules about the marking of components to
assist removal and recycling.
The Government's view
8.4 The Minister for Energy, e-Commerce and Postal
Services, Department of Trade and Industry (Mr Stephen Timms)
says:
"ELVs are already successfully recycled and
reused, to over 75% by weight, through an existing dismantling
and scrap metal chain. However, as well as setting targets to
increase recycling and recovery, and improving the treatment process
in other ways, the ELV Directive has gone beyond traditional UK
practice in a number of other respects, one of these being the
setting of a re-usability, recyclability and recoverability standard
for new vehicles. It was agreed during negotiation of the ELV
Directive that this requirement would be best implemented as a
new revision to vehicle type-approval, via the setting of a common
standard for all vehicles (of the types affected by the ELV Directive)
sold in Europe, so as to ensure that trade barriers are not created.
"The technical requirements for calculating
the design performance of vehicles are in accordance with ISO
Standard 22628: 2002 and were discussed in the Commission's Consultative
Group, the Motor Vehicle Working Group, which is made up of representatives
of member States, the industry and non-governmental organisations.
"Vehicle manufacturers' associations have expressed
some reservations with regard to this proposal. In particular,
that there would be a considerable burden of collecting large
amounts of data to be compiled and submitted to the approval authorities,
and that the Directive would also apply to vehicles already in
production, which would mean significant changes during the lifespan
of a vehicle design. There does not seem to be great attraction
in requiring manufacturers to carry out the specified calculations,
and possibly redesign in some ways, models which may be approaching
the end of their production life, particularly since the ELV Directive
itself requires all scrapped vehicles to be reused, recycled and
recovered to 85% from 2006 and 95% from 2015, whatever their design
and composition. The Government has recently consulted publicly
on an approach that would make vehicle manufacturers responsible
for achieving these targets in respect of their own makes of vehicles
(the so-called 'own marque' approach).
"A vehicle component suppliers association has
supported the proposal but has suggested provisions requiring
dismantled vehicle parts to be submitted for quality control checks
before being re-used. However, there was little support for this
view and no evidence has been presented that re-used vehicle components
are the cause of accidents, in the UK. The provision regarding
parts deemed non re-usable only affects new vehicles, so is unlikely
to be of significant consequence because used parts are not generally
used in the production of new vehicles. The proposed type-approval
Directive cannot in any case affect re-use of components in existing
vehicles.
"However, now that the standard has been agreed,
we are not aware of any serious concerns from industry in respect
of the proposed Directive, except for its proposed applicability
to types already in production. In fact the 85% recyclable figure
is one that some manufacturers have claimed for some current or
past models."
8.5 The Minister also sends us an initial Regulatory
Impact Assessment and, whilst emphasising that this can only be
indicative at this stage, highlights some of the estimates:
- an annual UK cost in the range
of £9 million - £39 million;
- divided amongst the nine large vehicle manufacturers
in the UK, costs in the range of £1 million - £4 million
for each business annually; and
- based on current UK vehicle production, a cost
per vehicle produced in the UK in the range of £6 - £24.
Conclusion
8.6 We note that, although the proposed Directive
does not generally give rise to serious concern, there is a problem
in relation to vehicle types already in production. We understand
the Government is still considering its approach to the negotiation
of this draft. Before considering the matter further we should
like to hear from the Minister about the likely stance the Government
will adopt on the problematic aspects of the draft Directive,
including possible improvements based on an "own marque"
approach. Meanwhile we do not clear the document.
14 Directive 2000/53/EC: see OJ No. L 269, 21.10.00,
p.34. Back
15
Directive 70/156/EEC: see OJ No. L 42, 23.2.70, p.1. Back
16
We are holding under scrutiny a draft Directive to comprehensively
revise and replace the Type-Approval Directive. Amongst other
things the whole vehicle type-approval system would be extended
to most other vehicles including light goods vehicles. See (24767)
11641/03: HC 42-xiv (2003-04), para 4 (24 March 2004). Back
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