EuCIA welcomes the adoption of the new end-of-life vehicles (ELVs) Regulation as a positive step that can help accelerate the circular economy across the entire mobility value chain.
On 18 June, the European Parliament announced final approval of these new EU circularity rules covering a vehicle’s entire life cycle, from design to end-of-life treatment.
The agreement reached by Parliament and Council at the end of 2025 was adopted with 437 votes in favour, 112 against and 20 abstentions.
According to the new rules:
- All new vehicles must be designed so as to allow the easy removal of as many parts and components as possible.
- Plastics used in each new vehicle type will have to contain a minimum of 15% recycled plastic within six years and 25% within ten years.
- A minimum of 20% of this recycled plastic must come from materials recovered from end-of-life vehicles (ELVs) or used parts.
The new regulation will now be formally approved by the European Council, before entering into force and being applied 24 months later.
A framework for innovation, investment and collaboration
EuCIA welcomes the adoption of this new ELVs Regulation, which is an important milestone in Europe’s transition towards a more circular and resource-efficient automotive industry.
By strengthening requirements for circularity, recycled materials and vehicle design, the regulation sends a clear signal to invest in innovative recycling technologies and the development of robust secondary raw material markets. This is a positive step that can help accelerate the circular economy across the entire mobility value chain.
For the European composites industry, the regulation creates new opportunities to scale up recycling solutions and unlock the value of secondary composite raw materials. While further clarification is needed to ensure composite materials are fully recognised within recycled-content provisions, the regulation provides an important framework to drive innovation, investment and collaboration.
As Europe seeks to strengthen its industrial competitiveness and strategic autonomy, circular composite materials will play an increasingly important role in delivering lightweight, durable and sustainable mobility solutions. EuCIA and the European Circular Composites Alliance (ECCA) will continue to promote composites recycling technologies and support the deployment of an appropriate ecosystem for the collection and processing of composite parts.
Professor Roberto Frassine, President of EuCIA: “The new ELV Regulation is a strong signal that circularity is becoming a core pillar of Europe’s industrial strategy. It creates the conditions for greater investment in recycling technologies and secondary raw materials, including the composite materials used in transport applications.”
“This regulation marks an important step forward. It will help further develop the business case for circular composite value chains and accelerate innovation across the European mobility ecosystem.”
Further measures
The new Regulation includes further measures to boost circularity.
Based on feasibility studies, the Commission will be able to introduce targets for other materials in the future, such as recycled steel, aluminium, magnesium and critical raw materials.
Three years after the entry into force of these new rules, extended producer responsibility (EPR) will be introduced for manufacturers, which will then have to cover the cost of the collection and treatment of vehicles that have reached their end-of-life stage anywhere in the EU.
When selling a used vehicle, businesses will be required an assessment that it is not an ELV or alternatively has a valid roadworthiness certificate. Transactions between private persons will only require one of these two documents if the vehicle is declared a total economic loss or if the sale is concluded exclusively via an online platform.
To address the issue of ‘missing vehicles’ and prevent illegal treatment and dismantling, the law bans the export of vehicles declared non-roadworthy (applicable five years after the entry into force of the regulation).
Background
On 13 July 2023, the Commission proposed a new regulation on circularity requirements for vehicle design and improved management of end-of-life vehicles, in line with the objectives of the European Green Deal and the circular economy action plan. This replaces two directives (Directive 2000/53/EC on end-of-life vehicles (ELV Directive)) and Directive 2005/64/EC on the type-approval of motor vehicles with regard to their reusability, recyclability and recoverability (3R type-approval Directive) and replaces them with a single legal instrument. Its overall objective is to modernise the EU existing legislation and to improve the functioning of the EU single market while contributing to the sustainability of the automotive and recycling sectors.
In 2024, 13.8 million motor vehicles were manufactured in the EU, while 12.6 million vehicles were registered. Of the 285.6 million motor vehicles on EU roads, 6.5 million reach their end of life every year.
