2020–2030 CO2 standards for new cars and light-commercial vehicles in the European Union

New passenger cars and light-commercial vehicles (vans) in the European Union (EU) are currently subject to mandatory carbon dioxide (CO2) standards up to the year 2020/21. The European Commission is preparing to extend the light-duty vehicles’ CO2 regulation out to the 2025–2030 timeframe. In that context, it is useful to review overall vehicle CO2 emission reduction requirements, on one hand, and vehicle-specific CO2 reduction technology potential and cost on the other. Those topics are the subject of this briefing paper.