But the biggest change is to the on-board diagnostic (OBD) strategy, which will live-monitor key pollutants, illuminating the engine-management light (EML) if emissions go out of limits.
This is a huge upheaval in OBD operation, which today identifies a component causing increased emissions, such as an oxygen sensor, for replacement.
What are electrically heated e-catalysts?
One of the biggest proposal from Euro 7 is new electrically heated e-catalysts.
Due as standard fitment in petrol and hybrid engines from 2025, they will delay the starting procedure of new cars by up to 30sec.
The e-cats will become standard in most new cars so that they comply with the new cold-start regulations in the Euro 7 emissions laws, which introduces a “emissions budget” that a car must comply with over a 10km (6.2-mile) driven route.
An electric heater coupled to a small fan, likened to a hairdryer, will push hot air into the catalyst core and raise it to operating temperature, a procedure that takes between 20sec and 30sec.
“To mitigate any delay, OEM car makers are exploring new starting procedures, for example linking remote key transponder technology or mobile-phone apps to initialise the cat warm-up before a driver enters the car,” said Mahle Powertrain, which helped Autocar Business de-code the coming EU7 regulations for this article.
However, even that technology might leave a driver with a 5sec or 10sec delay while the car warms up before it can be started.
When will Euro 7 happen?
Current proposals say cars put into production from July 2025 will have to be EU7 compatible, two years earlier than expected – an aggressive speeding-up of the introduction that has infuriated many in the industry.
Unusually, engines operating to EU6 standards will have to comply in July 2025. “That’s a big change as historically engines already in production have been given a further 12 months to comply, when rules tighten from one EU level to a more stringent one,” said Mahle Powertrain.