From 29 November 2026, new passenger-car models type-approved in the European Union will have to meet limits on particles from brake wear, including electric cars. ePitești reports that the new European rules on vehicle pollution extend to these particles, not only to exhaust gases.

The Euro 7 regulation introduces, for the first time at European level, requirements for particles released during braking. ePitești, citing TVR Info, describes them as microscopic particles that come off through friction in the braking system, enter the air and can affect health.

The thresholds differ by propulsion. For fully electric cars, the limit is three milligrams of particles per kilometre. For vehicles with other types of propulsion, the maximum is seven milligrams per kilometre. Telegraf, citing Regulation (EU) 2024/1257, says the particles in question are PM10 and that the seven-milligram cap applies to combustion engines, hybrids and hydrogen fuel cells, for cars and for some light commercial vehicles.

The rules arrive in two stages. ePitești writes that from 29 November 2026 the requirements are mandatory for new models due to be type-approved in the Union, and that from November 2027 they extend to all new cars covered by the regulation, not only to newly type-approved models. Telegraf sets the second date at 29 November 2027 and extends it to all new vehicles in the categories concerned, including models type-approved earlier and still in production.

Owners of cars already on the road are not required to modify them to meet Euro 7. ePitești says the regulation applies to new vehicles, on the European timetable. Telegraf adds that the measures do not require already registered cars to be adapted and do not ban existing Euro 6 cars from the road.

For ePitești, the new limits do not mean taking existing cars out of use. They add a requirement for a source of pollution tied to how a car is used, brake wear, on vehicles sold in the European Union.

Image: Wikimedia Commons — the front disc brake of a 2020 Chevrolet Bolt EV, photographed on 22 August 2026 (4300streetcar, CC BY 4.0). The photo is not from a Euro 7 type-approval test.

Sources consulted: Electric cars covered by the new Euro 7 rules — ePitești; Euro 7 sets limits on brake-particle emissions — Telegraf.