The End-of-Life Vehicles (ELV) Regulation enters into force tomorrow, revising the rules that govern the design, production, collection, and end-of-life treatment of vehicles.
It aims to strengthen circularity in the automotive sector by improving resource efficiency, increasing the recovery and reuse of valuable materials, and enhancing the environmental performance of vehicles throughout their lifecycle.
They will also help secure a more stable supply of secondary raw materials, reducing Europe’s dependence on imported virgin resources and supporting a more resilient industrial base.
The new rules encourage vehicle design that makes dismantling, reuse, recycling and recovery easier, while improving the information available on the removal and replacement of components during use and at the end of a vehicle’s life.
This will help both the automotive and recycling industries recover higher-quality components and materials more efficiently.
Use more recycled content
The Regulation also establishes requirements concerning the use of recycled materials in new vehicles. It sets mandatory targets for recycled plastic content of 15% from 2032 and 25% from 2036. In addition, the Commission will establish recycled content targets for steel and aluminium, which should apply from 2033.
The recycled content requirements are a key step towards creating a genuine market for secondary raw materials.
By providing long-term certainty for investors and manufacturers, the Regulation will encourage investment in recycling capacity, keep valuable materials in the European economy, strengthen Europe’s industrial resilience and reduce dependence on imported virgin raw materials.
Clearer, stricter implementation
Further measures strengthen the collection and traceability of vehicles reaching the end of their life. Reinforced traceability requirements, stronger enforcement, and clearer criteria that distinguish used vehicles from end-of-life vehicles will improve implementation across Member States.
New measures are also introduced to foster a higher recovery of critical raw materials from end-of-life vehicles, especially aluminium, copper and rare earth elements, to facilitate their reuse and recycling in the EU.
The Regulation also provides that from mid-2031, only roadworthy vehicles may be exported outside the EU, helping to protect the environment and prevent end-of-life vehicles from being exported as second-hand vehicles.
It strengthens Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR), ensuring that producers contribute to the costs of collecting and treating end-of-life vehicles.
By making producers responsible for the end-of-life phase of the vehicles they place on the market, the framework creates incentives for more sustainable vehicle design and helps ensure that high-quality collection, dismantling and recycling systems are properly financed.
It also strengthens cooperation between producers and waste management operators and extends the framework to additional vehicle categories, including lorries, buses and motorcycles.
Background
The End-of-Life Vehicles Regulation modernises the existing framework, revising Directive 2000/53/EC on end-of-life vehicles (“ELV Directive”, adopted in 2000) and Directive 2005/64/EC on the type-approval of motor vehicles with regard to their reusability, recyclability and recoverability (“3R type-approval Directive”, adopted in 2005)
The entry into force of the new End-of-Life Vehicles Regulation marks an important step towards a more resilient, sustainable and competitive European economy. By strengthening the recovery, reuse and recycling of materials and components from vehicles, the Regulation helps keep valuable resources within Europe’s economy for longer, reducing reliance on imported primary raw materials.
It supports the transition to a more circular automotive sector, maximising the efficient use of resources while enhancing environmental protection across the vehicle lifecycle.
In doing so, the Regulation contributes to the EU’s strategic objective of greater resource independence, strengthens the sustainability and competitiveness of Europe’s industrial ecosystem, and reinforces the Union’s leadership in the transition towards a cleaner and more resource-efficient future.
“The new End-of-Life Vehicles Regulation sets a new European standard for how vehicles should be designed, produced and recovered. This is about more than recycling – it is about securing critical materials and making our automotive sector truly circular. Every car that is dismantled, every tonne of steel, aluminium, copper or plastic that is recovered, is a step towards a more resilient Europe.”
Jessika Roswall, Commissioner for Environment, Water Resilience and a Competitive Circular Economy
“The End-of-Life Vehicles Regulation is not just about waste, it is about resilience and Europe’s industrial future. It helps cut our dependencies on external suppliers, strengthens Europe’s economic security and keeps strategic resources within the EU. That is not only good environmental policy – it is hard-headed industrial policy.”
Stéphane Séjourné, Executive Vice-President for Prosperity and Industrial Strategy
More Information
End-of-Life Vehicles | European Commission
