The European Parliament approved a bold package to make the automotive sector more circular, requiring new car designs to favor reuse, recycling, and recovery, with a binding share of recycled materials in future models.

The Strasbourg vote passed 437 to 112 with 20 abstentions, and the rules now await confirmation by member states before taking effect roughly two years from now.

New vehicle models must be designed so components can be removed and recovered, and plastics must include rising recycled content—at least 15% within six years and 25% within ten years, largely sourced from end-of-life vehicles.

The reinforced Extended Producer Responsibility framework gives waste-management operators an official observer role on producer-responsibility bodies, boosting transparency and fair operator selection.

FER warned that quality requirements for recovered metals and potential higher sorting costs could undermine current recycling models.

FEAD calls for effective implementation of the ELVR to ensure the recycling sector can contribute to a competitive, circular European economy.

Industry groups emphasized the need to align rising recycling goals with robust, bankable markets and predictable demand for recycled plastics to justify investments.

Authorised Treatment Facilities are recognized as the backbone of ELV treatment, ensuring traceability, depollution, and Certificates of Destruction.

The regulation strengthens ATFs’ role and reinforces that vehicles are a resource stream for Europe’s circular economy rather than waste.

Measures aim to curb missing vehicles by tightening traceability and export controls to prevent harmful shipments abroad.

FER welcomed progress but cautioned that some technical and economic requirements could raise costs without clear environmental benefits, urging sector input in secondary legislation.

Export controls and traceability are tightened; origin tracking and certified reusable parts are introduced to promote reuse and reduce waste.