Brussels adds battery durability and brake emission tests to EU vehicle approvals

The European Commission has added in-vehicle battery durability, brake particle emissions, electrified vehicle system power and low-temperature electric range to the list of requirements that vehicles must satisfy to obtain EU whole-vehicle type-approval. The change is contained in Commission Delegated Regulation (EU) 2026/1753 of 13 July 2026, published in the Official Journal of the European Union, L series, of 24 September 2026. It enters into force on 25 September 2026, the day after publication, and is binding in its entirety and directly applicable in all Member States.

What the delegated act changes

The act amends Annex II of Regulation (EU) 2018/858 on the approval and market surveillance of motor vehicles, and was adopted under Articles 5(3), 41(5) and 57(2) of that regulation. It inserts four new items — GA19 to GA22 — into the table of regulatory acts for EU whole-vehicle type-approval of vehicles produced in unlimited series, and mirrors them in the appendices covering special purpose vehicles.

The new entries apply to vehicles of categories M1 and N1 and to “Euro 7ext” vehicles, and are anchored in the Euro 7 framework of Regulation (EU) 2024/1257. According to the recitals, the aim is to ensure that the technical requirements on low-temperature laboratory range tests, electrified system power, battery durability and brake particle emissions are complied with, and that the vehicle types obtain EU whole-vehicle type-approval accordingly. The regulation was signed in Brussels on 13 July 2026 by Commission President Ursula von der Leyen.

The four new approval items

• GA19 — Low-temperature test for electric vehicle (EV) range in the laboratory, under Regulation (EU) 2024/1257 and Implementing Regulation (EU) 2025/1706.
• GA20 — Electrified vehicle (system) power determination, under the same two acts.
• GA21 — In-vehicle battery durability, under Regulation (EU) 2024/1257 and Implementing Regulation (EU) 2025/1706.
• GA22 — Brake particle emissions, under Regulation (EU) 2024/1257 and Implementing Regulation (EU) 2026/1762 of 13 July 2026.

UN rules accepted as equivalent

Part II of Annex II, which lists the UN Regulations recognised as equivalent for EU type-approval, is updated to include UN Regulations Nos 83, 154, 177 and 179, with series of amendments 09, 04, 00 and 00 respectively. The table also cites UN Regulation No 85 (series 00), No 168 (series 01) and No 180 (series 00). A combination of the relevant UN type-approval certificates is deemed equivalent to the “Euro 7A” emission standard, that is, a certificate issued under Implementing Regulation (EU) 2025/1706 together with one issued under Implementing Regulation (EU) 2026/1764.

Special purpose vehicles and heavy-duty monitoring

For special purpose vehicles, the approval authority may grant exemptions from the battery durability and brake particle requirements only where the manufacturer demonstrates that the vehicle cannot meet them because of its special purpose; the exemptions granted must be described on the vehicle type-approval certificate and the certificate of conformity. A further item, G3c, adds on-board devices for monitoring fuel and electric energy consumption and determining total vehicle mass under Regulation (EC) No 595/2009 and Implementing Regulation (EU) 2025/2161, extending the list to Euro VI heavy-duty vehicles.

For manufacturers selling cars and vans in the EU, the four new items become part of the approval dossier rather than optional tests, so battery degradation, cold-weather range, system power and brake wear must be measured and certified before a type can be placed on the market. The delegated act also locks the UN Regulations accepted as equivalent into the EU list, giving approval authorities and industry a single reference for Euro 7 light-duty approvals.

Source: Official Journal of the European Union, L series, 24.9.2026, 2026/1753 (official reference: CELEX L_20261753).