The European Commission has proposed a targeted change to how heavy-duty vehicle manufacturers earn CO₂ emission credits in the second half of this decade, easing compliance mechanics without altering the headline emissions targets themselves.
Published on 16 December, the proposal would apply to the 2025-2029 reporting period and amends Regulation (EU) 2019/1242, which governs CO₂ performance standards for new heavy-duty vehicles across the EU.
At its core, the change adjusts how credits are calculated, not what manufacturers are ultimately required to achieve.
What changes under the proposal
Under the current system, truck manufacturers earn emission credits only if their fleet-wide average CO₂ emissions fall below a linear reduction trajectory - a straight line drawn between the 2025 and 2030 targets.
That means a manufacturer can meet the 15% reduction target in 2025, yet still earn no credits in the late 2020s if it falls above the tightening trajectory line in individual years.
The Commission now proposes that, for the years 2025 to 2029, manufacturers should instead earn credits if their emissions fall below the 15% 2025 target, regardless of their position relative to the trajectory.
The 2030 target of a 43% CO₂ reduction remains unchanged. So does the longer-term 90% reduction target by 2040.
Urban buses are excluded from the amendment, with the Commission noting that their electrification is already progressing quickly and is less constrained by motorway charging infrastructure.
Brussels says it’s needed
In the proposal’s explanatory text, Brussels points to delays in the rollout of public charging infrastructure for heavy-duty vehicles, particularly along motorways, and the risk of a sharp compliance cliff as the 2030 targets take effect.
Allowing manufacturers to accumulate more credits before 2030 is presented as a way to:
- Smooth the transition into the next compliance phase
- Maintain regulatory certainty
- Avoid reopening or weakening the targets themselves
The proposal follows sustained lobbying from heavy-duty vehicle manufacturers, many of whom had requested a similar adjustment - in some cases extending beyond 2030, which the Commission has not accepted.
What it means in practice
If adopted, the amendment would likely result in more emission credits entering the system, particularly among manufacturers that are already outperforming the minimum targets.
That does not remove the obligation to meet the 2030 standards, but it does:
- Reduce pressure to stay ahead of an increasingly steep trajectory in the late 2020s
- Shift more compliance flexibility into the early 2030s
- Reward early over-performance more generously
In other words, it changes the timing of compliance pressure, not the end destination.
Implications for zero-emission trucks
The proposal has clear implications for the pace and mix of zero-emission truck deployment, even if it avoids naming technologies directly.
By easing late-2020s pressure, the change may:
- Reduce the need for aggressive fleet over-delivery of battery-electric trucks before 2030
- Give manufacturers more room to balance battery-electric and hydrogen strategies
- Delay some of the hardest compliance decisions until infrastructure availability improves
The Commission frames this as a pragmatic response to real-world constraints, rather than a retreat from policy ambition.
What this is - and isn’t
This is not a rollback of EU climate targets, and it does not dilute the legal requirements manufacturers must meet by 2030 and beyond.
It is, however, a softening of the compliance curve, acknowledging that infrastructure deployment has not kept pace with regulatory timelines.
Whether this proves sufficient - or simply postpones tougher decisions into the next decade - will depend on how quickly charging and refuelling networks for heavy-duty zero-emission vehicles scale across Europe.
Brussels appears to be betting that a smoother run-up will get more trucks over the line when it matters.
