Draconian rules for light commercial vehicles

This month, solving the pollution issue for light vehicles is amongst the European Commission’s priorities. Thus, in early September, the governments of the 27 countries will be in negotiations with the European Commission regarding mandatory car manufacturers reducing carbon dioxide emissions of trucks and other small vehicles.

Car manufacturers have already raised protests against the initiative, citing the sharp decrease in sales due to the economic crisis: about two million vehicles are sold each year in the EU, but the producers deplore the statistics: from June 2008 to June 2009, the sales decreased by 40%.

The Commission estimated the cost per vehicle between 1.600 and 6.000 Euros. “We take into account the vans and minibuses, vehicles used for commercial purposes and whose owners are very attentive to cost, both the operating and the maintenance costs,” added the spokesperson of the Commission.