Environment

#42026X1900EU publication of amendments to UN Regulation No. 168 on real driving emissions testing

🇪🇺European Union··Other·Medium Impact·View source ↗

AI-generated summary for informational purposes only. Not legal advice. See the original source for the authoritative text.

🇬🇧 English

The amendments update UN Regulation No. 168, which sets a harmonized method for measuring real driving emissions from light-duty passenger and commercial vehicles. The rule defines three approval levels based on different WLTC test cycles and makes Level 2 the most stringent option because it requires both the 4-phase and 3-phase test cycles. Vehicle manufacturers and approval authorities need to check which approval level applies to each vehicle category. Pure electric vehicles and fuel cell vehicles remain outside the scope, while the rules mainly affect M1 and N1 vehicles, with some coverage for certain M2 and N2 vehicles depending on the approval level.

AI-generated summary. May contain errors. Refer to official sources for legal decisions.

Key Changes

  • Defines three real driving emissions approval levels: Level 1A, Level 1B and Level 2
  • Sets Level 2 as the highest stringency level because it requires both 4-phase and 3-phase WLTC testing
  • Clarifies vehicle categories covered by each approval level and excludes pure electric and fuel cell vehicles

Obligations

What this law requires

high

For Level 1A approval, vehicles must be tested and evaluated for real driving emissions using a 4-phase WLTC cycle covering low, medium, high and extra-high phases.

vehicle manufacturerstype approval authorities
Date of entry into force of Supplement 1: 26 September 2025
operational
high

For Level 1B approval, vehicles must be tested and evaluated for real driving emissions using a 3-phase WLTC cycle covering low, medium and high phases.

vehicle manufacturerstype approval authorities
Date of entry into force of Supplement 1: 26 September 2025
operational
critical

For Level 2 approval, vehicles must be tested and evaluated for real driving emissions using both the 4-phase WLTC cycle and the 3-phase WLTC cycle.

vehicle manufacturerstype approval authorities
Date of entry into force of Supplement 1: 26 September 2025
operational
medium

Pure electric vehicles and fuel cell vehicles must not be treated as within the scope of UN Regulation No. 168 real driving emissions approval requirements.

vehicle manufacturerstype approval authorities
prohibition
medium

For Level 1A approval, the real driving emissions type-approval scope applies to vehicles of categories M1 and N1.

vehicle manufacturerstype approval authorities
licensing

Affected Parties

Vehicle manufacturersType approval authorities+1 more…

Tags

vehicle emissions,type approval,real driving emissions…