Evaluation – Finalised: SWD(2021)60, 15.03.2021
Commission Proposal – Adopted by the Commission, COM(2023)451 on 13 July 2023
The end-of-life vehicles (ELV) Directive (Directive 2000/53/EC) was adopted in 2000. The Directive sets out restrictions on the use of hazardous substances in new cars, obligations relating to the collection and treatment of ELV, as well as targets by 2015 for re-use/recovery and re-use/recycling. Each year, around 11 million of vehicles leave the stock of registered vehicles in the EU, representing a potential of about 11 million tonnes of waste. The majority of waste from ELVs consists of ferrous and non-ferrous metals, with a growing share of plastic waste and electronic waste, reflecting the increasing use of lightweight materials and electronics in new cars.
There are new challenges to be considered today, such as new materials (plastics, carbon fibre, electronics, etc.) and technologies used in cars and their end-of-life treatment, which potentially have an impact on optimal reuse and recycling. Furthermore, the large number of end-of-life vehicles that are not accounted for (“missing ELVs”) in the EU is a persistent problem with the implementation of the Directive. The growing number of electric vehicles on the EU market will also bring new challenges for the sector.
Building on the findings of the evaluation finalised in 2021, in July 2023 the Commission has tabled a proposal for a regulation on circularity requirements for vehicle design and on management of end-of-life vehicles, amending Regulations (EU) 2018/858 and 2019/1020 and repealing Directives 2000/53/EC and 2005/64/EC.
In 2022, the Fit for Future Platform adopted an opinion regarding ELVs making the following suggestions:
• Suggestion 1: Consider a digital vehicle passport including details on used materials
• Suggestion 2: Refine the definitions for end-of-life vehicles and used vehicles/ parts of vehicles
• Suggestion 3: Consider full digitalisation of the registration system and (2) installation of a central registration system and/or interoperable systems or ensuring the compatibility and coordination of the registration systems across and within
• Member States
• Suggestion 4: Enforce the certificate of destruction (COD) necessary for deregistration and implement a systemic differentiation between temporary and permanent deregistration
• Suggestion 5: Improve implementability of the ELV-Directive's requirements through a reward system for deregistration and/or dismantling
• Suggestion 6: Ensure coherence with other legislation, e.g., the Batteries Directive
• 2006/66/EC and the REACH Regulation
• Suggestion 7: Improve compliance and enforcement possibilities through more realistic targets, common methodologies, and increased producer responsibility
The Platform’s opinion on the end-of-life vehicles focusses on digitalisation and interoperability. Many of its suggestions fed directly into Commission’s preparatory works on the impact assessment accompanying the revision of the End-of-life Directive. This included the extended use of digital means, alignment of recycling definitions with the Waste Framework Directive and setting mandatory criteria that would help distinguishing end-of-life vehicles from used vehicles. It also tackled the improved interoperability between national vehicle registers to address the problem of “missing vehicles”, increased functionality of the certificate of destruction by clarifying its linkage with vehicle de-registration and adding additional information to vehicle registers. The call for better coherence with sectoral legislation, e.g. the Batteries Regulation, has been assessed in measures considering future regulatory approaches on substances of concern in vehicles. The impact assessment also considered the suggested ways to improve extended producer responsibility, monitoring and the overall enforcement of the advanced end-of-life vehicles treatment requirements.