The Worldwide Harmonized Light Vehicle Test Procedure (WLTP) set out in Commission Regulation (EU) 2017/1151 was adopted by the Commission on 1 June 2017. The WLTP replaces the New European Driving Cycle (NEDC) set out in Annex XII to Commission Regulation (EC) No 692/2008. From 2021, compliance with the CO2 emissions targets set out in Regulation (EC) No 443/2009 are to be verified on the basis of CO2 emissions determined in accordance with the WLTP procedure. From that date, also CO2 eco-innovation savings should be determined by reference to the WLTP.

To reflect the change in the regulatory test procedure and taking into account the procedure to correlate the WLTP CO2 values into the corresponding NEDC CO2 values, set out in Commission Implementing Regulation (EU) 2017/1153, it is necessary to amend Commission Implementing Regulation (EU) No 725/2011.

To ensure a smooth transition from the NEDC to the WLTP, it should be possible to submit an application for the approval of an innovative technology as an eco-innovation by reference to the NEDC until 31 December 2019, and to the WLTP from the entry into force of this Regulation.

While the Commission has granted more than twenty approvals of eco-innovations, the deployment by manufacturers of those technologies in the European Union vehicle fleet has until 2017 been quite limited. In order to promote a more extensive deployment of those technologies and obtain the highest potential for reducing CO2 emissions from passenger cars, the approval and certification process should be simplified.

Lowering the savings threshold to 0,5 g CO2/km is likely to promote a wider deployment of innovative technologies capable of reducing CO2 emissions. However, in order to ensure that those CO2 savings are actually achieved, it is essential that they are determined very accurately. It is therefore necessary to assess and quantify the uncertainty that is linked to the methods used for demonstrating the savings and to take that uncertainty into account when the CO2 savings are certified by the approval authority. It is appropriate to align the change of the savings threshold with the introduction of the WLTP, and as a consequence the new threshold should apply for the purpose of applications made by reference to the WLTP.

For the purpose of demonstrating the CO2 savings, component testing should be possible in those cases where the savings are not vehicle dependent in order to improve the accuracy and simplify the determination of the CO2 savings.

In order to simplify the certification of CO2 savings, it should be possible for the applicant to propose, in addition to a detailed testing methodology for determining the savings, a simplified evaluation method or pre-defined CO2 savings in the application for the approval of an innovative technology as an eco-innovation. Where such simplified methods or pre-defined CO2 savings are used, the savings certified by approval authorities should be determined in a conservative way reflecting the lowest level of savings demonstrated.

A technology that has already for some time been widely available on the market cannot be considered innovative within the meaning of Article 12 of Regulation (EC) No 443/2009 and should not be eligible as an eco-innovation. In order to create the right incentives, it is therefore appropriate to replace the 2009 reference year by a dynamic reference year as a baseline for determining the innovativeness of a technology. The new dynamic reference year should apply for applications submitted from 1 January 2020.

Where the Commission finds, based on the experience gained from assessing a number of innovative technologies with the same characteristics, that it has been satisfactorily and conclusively demonstrated that such technologies meet the eligibility criteria referred to in Article 12 of Regulation (EC) No 443/2009, or in the case an innovative technology is not dependent on manufacturer specific vehicle parameters, it should be possible to approve the innovative technology as an eco-innovation by a decision which provides all manufacturers with the possibility to certify CO2 savings by reference to that decision provided that the conditions of the decision are met.

Some innovative technologies require strong statistical evidence to support the assumptions given in the application for the approval of an innovative technology as an eco-innovation and the parameters proposed in the testing methodology. In order to have the widest possible data sets, it should be possible for a group of manufacturers or suppliers to apply together. Where that is the case, the group should have the possibility to submit an application including several verification reports, where that is necessary for confidentiality or competition reasons.

For the purpose of ensuring that the certified CO2 savings that are used by manufacturers for target compliance purposes are correct, the Commission should be in a position to react swiftly and notify manufacturers where it detects or is informed of any deviations or inconsistences in the testing methodology or the innovative technology which could affect the level of the certified savings.

Experience shows that it may be necessary to adjust the testing methodologies set out in the decisions approving an eco-innovation, inter alia, to take into account technical developments, or to extend the scope of the approval decision to a wider range of vehicles. It should therefore be possible for both the original applicant and for the Commission to initiate an amendment of those decisions.

Implementing Regulation (EU) No 725/2011 should therefore be amended accordingly.

The measures provided for in this Regulation are in accordance with the opinion of the Climate Change Committee,