Several high-ranking representatives of the car industry have already expressed their fears about the upcoming Euro-7 standard, a standard that should be the death knell for several heat engines, but not only. Small thermal cars are also at risk.

Stellantis CEO Carlos Tavares went further to say that these new, stricter conditions are in place “vain” and will have negative impact on the automotive industrywhich is now working on smaller, more affordable electric cars to replace already doomed thermal models.

A standard that is still quite opaque

The new Euro-7 standard is to enter into force in July 2025, although its final form and levels of nitric oxide and carbon monoxide have yet to be confirmed. However, in October last year it became known that“Final review carried out” based on new standards “modern geopolitical and economic circumstances”. But, again, nothing has been officially announced yet.

“It’s not useful, it’s expensive, it’s not good for customers, it’s not good for the environment”Carlos Tavares said during a multi-media roundtable discussion this week ahead of Stellantis’ 2022 earnings call. “The part about emissions from internal combustion engines just doesn’t make sense”.

Is the segment of thermal city cars doomed?

This is not the first time that Carlos Tavares has criticized the Euro 7 standard. Last year, the leader said that the new rules would force manufacturers to invest heavily in cleaner and more efficient heat engines. which would later be banned less than ten years later.

This will affect R&D costs for all new vehicles, particularly the city car segment, which may become too expensive for customers with implications of research and development costs for the transition to Euro-7.

Last October, in an interview, the CEO of Volkswagen, Thomas Schaefer, warned that the city car could be like that With the entry into force of the Euro-7 standard in Europe, the price will increase by 3,000-5,000 euros. This would kill the city car segment by simply making it unaffordable, even compared to the city electric car segment.