In July 2023, the European Commission adopted its proposal to revise and merge the End-of-Life Vehicles Directive and the 3R Type-Approval Directive into a single Regulation on Circularity Requirements for Vehicle Design and on Management of End-of-Life Vehicles. The proposal aims to strengthen the EU single market while improving the circularity of the sector and reducing the environmental impacts associated with the design, production, use, and end-of-life treatment of vehicles.

The undersigning organisations support the objectives of the proposal to improve the circularity of the automotive sector through measures such as design requirements for new vehicles and treatment obligations for end-of-life vehicles (ELVs), as well as improved definitions, information requirements, and enhanced traceability of ELVs.

While these new measures are welcomed, the signatories want to highlight the exceptional importance of steel in the context of the proposed Regulation and various new studies that provide robust evidence to support more ambitious measures that should be taken into consideration in the co-legislation process. Specifically, the signatories demand:

• A target of 30% recycled content for steel from post-consumer scrap in all vehicles covered by the Regulation by 2030, increasing to 40% by 2035. This target should include a share of recycled steel sourced from ELVs as well as a significant share of recycled steel sourced from local post-consumer scrap (i.e., made or processed in Europe).