In view of the link between CO₂ emissions and fuel consumption, defining modalities for reducing CO₂ emissions from light commercial vehicles could also contribute to reducing fuel consumption and related costs for owners of such vehicles in a cost-effective manner.

According to the technical analysis carried out for the impact assessment, the technologies needed to meet the target of 147 g CO₂/km are available and the required reductions can be achieved at a lower cost than estimated in the previous technical analysis carried out prior to the adoption of Regulation (EU) No 510/2011. In addition, the distance between the current average specific emissions of CO₂ from new light commercial vehicles and the target of 147 g CO₂/km has also decreased. Therefore, the feasibility of reaching that target by 2020 has been confirmed.

In recognition of the disproportionate impact on the smallest manufacturers resulting from compliance with the specific emissions targets defined on the basis of the utility of the vehicle, the high administrative burden of the derogation procedure, and the marginal resulting benefit in terms of CO₂ emissions reduction from the vehicles sold by those manufacturers, manufacturers responsible for fewer than 1 000 new light commercial vehicles registered in the Union annually should be excluded from the scope of the specific emissions target and the excess emissions premium.

The procedure for granting a derogation to small-volume manufacturers should be simplified to allow for more flexibility in terms of when an application for a derogation is to be submitted by such manufacturers and when the Commission is to grant such a derogation.

To enable the automotive industry to engage in long-term investment and innovation, it is desirable to provide indications as to how Regulation (EU) No 510/2011 should be amended for the period beyond 2020. Those indications should be based on an assessment of the necessary rate of reduction in line with the Union’s long-term climate goals and the implications for the development of cost effective CO₂-reducing technology for light commercial vehicles. The Commission should, by 2015, review such aspects and submit a report to the European Parliament and to the Council on its findings. That report should include, where appropriate, proposals for amending Regulation (EU) No 510/2011 in relation to establishing CO₂ emission targets for new light commercial vehicles beyond 2020, including the possible setting of a realistic and achievable target for 2025, based on a comprehensive impact assessment that would consider the continued competitiveness of the industry and its dependent industries, while pursuing a clear emissions reduction trajectory in line with the Union’s long-term climate goals. When developing such proposals, the Commission should ensure they are as neutral as possible from the point of view of competition and are socially equitable and sustainable.

Greenhouse gas emissions related to energy supply and vehicle manufacturing and disposal are significant components of the current overall road transport carbon footprint and are likely to significantly increase in importance in the future. Policy action should therefore be taken to guide manufacturers towards optimal solutions taking account of, in particular, greenhouse gas emissions associated with the generation of energy supplied to vehicles such as electricity and alternative fuels and to ensure that those upstream emissions do not erode the benefits related to the improved operational energy use of vehicles aimed for under Regulation (EU) No 510/2011.

Pursuant to Article 13(3) of Regulation (EU) No 510/2011, the Commission is required to publish a report on the availability of data on footprint and payload and their use as utility parameters for determining specific CO₂ emissions targets as expressed by the formulae set out in Annex I to Regulation (EU) No 510/2011. Although those data are available and their potential use has been assessed in the impact assessment, it has been concluded that it is more cost-effective to retain mass in running order as the utility parameter for the 2020 target for light commercial vehicles.

It is appropriate to retain the approach of setting the target based on a linear relationship between the utility of the light commercial vehicle and its target CO₂ emissions as expressed by the formulae set out in Annex I to Regulation (EU) No 510/2011, since this allows the diversity of the light commercial vehicle market, and the ability of manufacturers to address different consumer needs, to be maintained, thus avoiding any unjustified distortion of competition. It is however appropriate to update that approach to reflect the latest available data on registrations of new light commercial vehicles.

In its impact assessment, the Commission assessed the availability of footprint data and the use of footprint as the utility parameter in the formulae set out in Annex I to Regulation (EU) No 510/2011. On the basis of that assessment, the Commission has concluded that the utility parameter used in the formula for 2020 should be mass.

With a view to ensuring that real world emissions are adequately reflected, and measured CO₂ values are strictly comparable, the Commission should ensure that those elements in the testing procedure that have a significant influence on measured CO₂ emissions are strictly defined in order to prevent the utilisation of test cycle flexibilities by manufacturers. The deviations between type-approval CO₂ emission values and emissions derived from vehicles offered for sale should be addressed, including by considering an in-service conformity test procedure that should ensure independent testing of a representative sample of vehicles for sale, as well as ways of addressing cases of demonstrated substantial divergence between survey and initial type-approval CO₂ emissions.

Since the objective of this Regulation, namely to define the modalities for reaching the 2020 target to reduce CO₂ emissions from new light commercial vehicles, cannot be sufficiently achieved by the Member States but can rather, by reason of its scale and effects, be better achieved at Union level, the Union may adopt measures, in accordance with the principle of subsidiarity as set out in Article 5 of the Treaty on European Union. In accordance with the principle of proportionality, as set out in that Article, this Regulation does not go beyond what is necessary in order to achieve that objective.

Regulation (EU) No 510/2011 should therefore be amended accordingly,