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LAW AND LEGISLATION

POLAND

Wind power seemingly liberalized

On March 10, 2023, the Sejm rejected the Senate's amendments reducing the minimum distance of a wind farm from residential buildings from 700 to 500 meters. Such a change may make it even more difficult to unblock funds from the KPO, as the liberalization of investments in wind energy is one of the milestones that determine the payment.

Type-approval waiting for the President

On April 17, 2023, the Sejm submitted the adopted changes to the type-approvals for signature by the President. The act, i.a. introduces a new system of charging fees for issuing type-approval documents, clarifies that type-approval documents may be signed with a mechanical signature, and an alternative option was introduced to obtain an additional gas installation approval certificate (UN Regulations No. 115). The Sejm voted to reject the Senate's non-legislative amendments.

From April 1, DAB+ requirements are mandatory

On April 1, 2023, the final requirements under the Regulation of the Minister of Digitization of February 14, 2020 on technical and operational requirements for consumer devices used to receive digital radio broadcasts regarding DAB+ radio receivers in Poland came into force. The requirements apply to category M vehicles manufactured from 1 April 2023.

Remote work in the labor code, also the right to control it

From April 7, 2023, the provisions of the Labor Code on remote work are in force, employers must introduce appropriate internal regulations regarding its performance and requirements in the field of security and protection of information, including personal data protection procedures, but they will also gain the right to control compliance with the conditions of remote work.

Transparent employment conditions and work-life balance

On April 26, 2023, new regulations regarding the conclusion and termination of contracts enter into force, introduce new leaves and make the work of parents more flexible. It will be necessary to justify the termination of a fixed-term employment contract or to make it possible to submit an application for a change of employment conditions.

Clean Transport Zones in Warsaw

On April 25, 2023, consultations on the Clean Transport Zone (SCT) project in Warsaw end. In the first stage (July 2024), petrol cars older than 27 years and diesel cars older than 18 years will not be allowed to enter the SCT. There are no planned exclusions for hybrids or plug-in hybrids. Subsequent stages will be introduced every 2 years. Transit corridors excluded from the requirements of the SCT will not run through the zone.

EUROPEAN UNION

Batteries to stop EU-UK trade?

The concluded free trade agreement (FTA) between the EU and the UK provides for the mechanism of the so-called rules of origin, i.e. what percentage of the "value" of the product may come from outside the territories of the parties to the FTA. If this percentage is higher, the import of such a product will be subject to full tariffs. Softer percentage thresholds apply until the end of 2023.

New Euro 7/VII standards - are they really needed?

On November 10, 2022, the European Commission presented a draft of new Euro 7/VII standards. The Commission wants the new standards to enter into force on July 1, 2025 for cars and vans, and July 1, 2027 for trucks. The proposal has been considered in the European Parliament since December 15, 2022. Poland is against the new standards. The Presidency presented a compromise text concerning i.a. postponement of the effective date of the requirements.

Revision of CO2 targets for HDVs!

On February 14, 2023, the European Commission presented plans to revise CO2 emission limits for heavy duty vehicles - a 45% reduction in emissions from 2030; 65% from 2035 and 90% from 2040. City buses must be zero-emission already in 2030. The previous targets were -15% by 2025 and -30% by 2030 and did not include buses.

EU for zero emissions from 2035

On March 28, 2023, the Council of the European Union, i.e. representatives of the governments of the Member States, approved a 100% reduction in CO2 emissions from passenger cars and vans from 2035 with an increased intermediate target in 2030 (-55% for passenger cars and -50% for vans), subject to the inclusion of synthetic fuels as a zero-emission propulsion source. Only Poland was against.

BER for the next 5 years

The Commission decided to prolong the validity of the Motor Vehicle Block Exemption Regulation for a period of 5 years. While the Regulation remains unchanged, the Commission has made some targeted amendments to the Supplementary Guidelines. The most relevant one is that it considers that data generated by vehicle sensors may be an essential input for the provision of repair and maintenance services.

Fuels in the European Trading System (ETS)

On April 25, 2023, EU Council, following the EU Parliament approval, adopted changes to European Trading System that introduces the ETS2 system – obligation for fuel distributors to purchase „emission certificates” to sell fossil fuels. The changes will enter into force in 2027 (or in 2028 if energy prices will be very high).

UE wants to protect European industry from emission-free competition

As a consequence to changes in general ETS system, also on April 25, 2023, the EU Council approved the imposition of Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism (CBAM), that will require importers of certain energy intensive products (like steel, aluminium or hydrogen) to buy emission certificates similarly to EU based producers to even the costs.

VECTO simulation tool for trailers and semi-trailers

The launch of the VECTO simulation tool for trailers and semi-trailers is approaching. Companies producing trailers and semi-trailers should obtain a license to use the VECTO simulation tool in TDT by August 2023 at the latest. From August 2023, these companies should start simulating the CO2 emissions and fuel consumption of their vehicles for training and testing purposes.

Euro 5+ for L-category vehicles

The European Commission has announced the introduction of Euro 5+ d requirements for L-category vehicles in autumn 2023. Euro 5 for L-category vehicles is effective from January 1, 2020. Euro 5+ concerns the introduction of the requirement of durability of systems and devices limiting toxic emissions components of exhaust gases for the level of vehicle life. The European Commission is also considering the inclusion of L-category vehicles in Euro 7 from 2025.

The problem of noise limits for L-category vehicles

The European Commission is working on establishing new noise limits for L-category vehicles. ACEM is receiving information about the intention to reduce the permissible noise level from the current 77 dB(A) for vehicles with engine displacement <175 cm3 by 2-5 dB(A).

STATISTICS

POLAND

Vehicle registrations in Poland. Data from CEPiK for Q1 2023

The first quarter of the year brought an improvement in results for most vehicle categories. Over 123,000 passenger cars were registered from January to March. This result is far from the records of 2018-2019, which were close to 140,000, but over 20% higher than in 2022. The share of electric-powered cars increased to 3.3%, compared to 2.2% last year. The share of hybrids (including plug-in) also increased, reaching over 40% (+4.5 percentage points).

Production in Poland. Data from CSO for Q1 2023

The March manufacturing data released by the CSO once again this year brought some positives. Last month, we could see year-on-year increases in all segments except buses. In the case of passenger cars and heavy trucks, the increases went into triple digits, though the base for comparison was very low. Bus production, on the other hand, ended last month with a slightly lower result than a year earlier. The achieved results are encouraging despite the low base for comparison in March’22. Combustion engines for vehicles also recorded an increase in production.

EUROPEAN UNION

Registrations of passenger cars in European Union. ACEA data for Q1 2023

In March 2023, the EU car market recorded a significant 28.8% increase in passenger car registrations, surpassing more than a million units (1,087,939). All the EU largest markets saw double-digit growth last month, with Spain (66.1%) and Italy (40.7%) in the lead.

PR & MEDIA

The heads of the E-Transport Coalition talk with Minister I. Zyska, Government Plenipotentiary for Renewable Energy Sources

The purpose of the first meeting was to familiarize the Minister with the work of the Coalition and its activities to support and promote the development of zero-emission heavy transport. Incentive systems have been indicated as the key ones - subsidies for the purchase of vehicles and no e-toll fees, as well as the construction of a network of high-power chargers adapted to the needs of heavy transport.

Group of HDV vehicles: 1st meeting of heads of truck companies associated in PZPM

A discussion aimed at defining the areas of support and strategy for the development of the truck segment in the era of transformation to zero-emission drives was undertaken, and methods of supporting transport companies in the area of energy, customer needs and the role of decision-makers in the transition to zero-emission drives were discussed.

The President of PZPM informed about the position of the European Commission regarding the reduction of CO2 emissions from HDVs, and the heads of companies defined the role and set tasks for PZPM to support the development of the zero-emission heavy-duty vehicles (HDV) market.

Group of HDV vehicles: 2nd meeting of heads of truck companies associated in PZPMM

On April 12, key market issues were discussed - including trends in HDV-BUS registrations. A diagram of the decision-making process regarding the e-transport sector, taking into account the levels of CO2 and AFIR reduction, was presented. The President also presented PZPM's activities for the promotion of zero-emission HDV.

On-line conference with Santander UK

On March 23, an on-line conference was held, organized jointly with Santander UK, with the participation of 3 Special Economic Zones: WSEZ Invest Park, KSSE and Euro-Park Mielec. The aim of the meeting was to present Poland as one of the alternatives to the newly created supply chain for British automotive companies that plan to limit imports from China and are looking for opportunities to diversify their supply sources.

MOVE Congress 2023

PZPM was a content partner of MOVE 2023. The fifth edition of the MOVE - International Mobility Congress was attended not only by representatives of the e-mobility sector and the broadly understood automotive industry, but also by experts related to the energy and fuel industries. The leading theme of the congress was the transformation of the automotive industry into zero-emission drives and zero-emission production.

PZPM Press Briefing

In response to the great interest of the media, PZPM organized a press briefing during which key issues related to law-making for the automotive sector by European Union institutions and offices were discussed. Journalists were informed about the initiated legislative process and its impact on the functioning of the automotive sector in Poland and Europe. The report from the briefing is available at: briefing prasowy on-line

PZPM - Internal Affairs

Invitation to the General Assembly 2023

We would like to inform you that the General Assembly of PZPM Members will take place live on June 22nd this year. Please reserve the date. We will provide organizational details as they become available.

PZPM in the Internet

Elektromobilność w Polsce i w Europie w obliczu aktualnych wyzwań

Ustawa o elektromobilności – aktualny stan rzeczy

ONLINE CONFERENCE

YOUTUBE DEBATE

PZPM Press Briefing On-Line

Vision of HDV transport develepoment - what are the challenges of electromobility

The second debate as part of the celebration of the 30th anniversary of PZPM, devoted to heavy transport in the era of transformation to zero-emission drives. Małgorzata Kulis, President of the Board of Volvo Trucks Polska, Wojciech Rowiński, General Director of Scania Polska SA, participated in the interview conducted by POLSAT. One of the points of discussion was the future of the truck industry in the light of the recent EC proposals to tighten the level of CO2 emission reduction from HDVs.

Sent by PZPM | Polish Automotive Industry Association