CO2 emissions from heavy-duty vehicles: 473 MEPs vote in favor of adding flexibility measures

473 MEPs voted in favour of the Commission's proposal to add flexibility measures for manufacturers of heavy-duty vehicles in their effort to comply with the CO2 emissions reduction by 2030, at the Plenary session of the Parliament in Strasbourg on 12/03/2026. 81 MEPs voted against, while nine of them abstained. Additionally, the Parliament voted in favour of an urgent procedure to speed up the adoption of this file on Tuesday, 10/03/2026.

The current rules, setting CO2 emission performance standards for new heavy-duty vehicles, were adopted in 2019. They required that "the annual EU fleet-wide average CO2 emissions from new heavy-duty vehicles are reduced progressively in five-year intervals". They also allowed manufacturers "to collect emission credits if their specific CO2 emissions are below the CO2 emissions reduction trajectory."

In its Automotive Package, presented on 16/12/2025, the Commission proposed to add some flexibilities for manufacturers by changing the calculation of emission credits for heavy-duty vehicles for the reporting periods of the years 2025 to 2029. This…