Circularity requirements for vehicle design and management of end-of-life vehicles [EU Legislation in Progress]

Written by Guillaume Ragonnaud (3rd edition, updated on 11.07.2025).

The EU’s automotive sector is resource intensive. There are 286 million motor vehicles on the road in the EU, and every year around 6.5 million vehicles become waste. If improperly managed, these vehicles may cause environmental damage and the economy may lose millions of tonnes of materials. In July 2023, the European Commission presented a proposal for a regulation addressing the whole life cycle of vehicles, from design to end-of-life, aimed at improving design and end-of-life management of vehicles for a more resource-efficient automotive sector. It would set circularity requirements on vehicle design and production concerning reusability, recyclability, recoverability and the use of recycled content. It would also lay down requirements on information and labelling of parts, components and materials in vehicles. In addition, the proposed regulation would establish requirements on extended producer responsibility, collection and treatment of end-of-life vehicles, and on the export of used vehicles from the EU to third countries. The proposal is now in the hands of the co-legislators. In the European Parliament, the Committees on the Environment, Climate and Food Safety (ENVI) and Internal Market and Consumer Protection (IMCO) are jointly responsible for the file. The Council adopted its position on 17 June 2025. The joint committee adopted its report on 7 July and the Parliament is expected to adopt its position during the September 2025 plenary session.

Complete version

• July 2025: ‘Circularity requirements for vehicle design and management of end-of-life vehicles‘ (3rd edition)