Introductory text

THE EUROPEAN COMMISSION,

Having regard to the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union,

Having regard to Regulation (EU) No 510/2011 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 11 May 2011 setting emission performance standards for new light commercial vehicles as part of the Union's integrated approach to reduce CO₂ emissions from light-duty vehicles^f1, and in particular Article 12(4) thereof,

Whereas:

On 22 December 2017, the supplier Mitsubishi Electric Corporation (MELCO), represented in the Union by MELCO Electric Automotive Europe B.V., submitted an application for the approval of the MELCO GXi alternator for N₁ vehicles as an eco-innovation. The application has been assessed in accordance with Article 12 of Regulation (EU) No 510/2011 and Commission Implementing Regulation (EU) No 427/2014^f2.

The information provided in the application demonstrates that the conditions and the criteria referred to in Article 12 of Regulation (EU) No 510/2011 and in Articles 2 and 4 of Implementing Regulation (EU) No 427/2014 have been met. As a consequence, the MELCO GXi alternator applied to N₁ vehicles should be approved as an eco-innovation.

By Implementing Decisions 2013/341/EU^f3, 2014/465/EU^f4, (EU) 2015/158^f5, (EU) 2015/295^f6, (EU) 2015/2280^f7 and (EU) 2016/588^f8, the Commission has approved six applications concerning technologies that contribute to improving the efficiency of alternators for vehicles of category M₁. Based on the experience gained from the assessment of those applications as well as the information contained in the MELCO Electric Automotive Europe B.V. application giving rise to this Decision, it has been satisfactorily and conclusively demonstrated that the MELCO GXi alternator for vehicles of category N₁, it being a 12 Volt (12 V) alternator with a minimum efficiency ranging from 73,4 % to 74,2 %, depending on the powertrain, meets the eligibility criteria referred to in Article 12 of Regulation (EU) No 510/2011 and in Implementing Regulation (EU) No 427/2014, and that it provides a reduction in CO₂ emissions of at least 1 g CO₂/km compared to a baseline alternator with an efficiency of 67 %.

It is therefore appropriate to provide manufacturers with the possibility to apply to an approval authority within the meaning of Directive 2007/46/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council^f9 for the certification of the CO₂ savings from vehicles fitted with 12 V efficient alternators that meet those conditions. In order to ensure that only CO₂ savings for vehicles equipped with alternators that are compliant with those conditions are certified, manufacturers should be required to provide to the type approval authority a verification report from an independent verification body confirming the compliance together with the application for certification.

If the type approval authority finds that the 12 V alternator does not satisfy the conditions laid down in this Decision, the application for certification of the savings should be rejected.

It is appropriate to approve the testing methodology for determining the CO₂ savings from 12 V efficient alternators.

In order to determine the CO₂ savings of a vehicle equipped with a 12 V efficient alternator, it is necessary to establish the baseline technology against which the efficiency of the alternator should be assessed. On the basis of the experience gained, it is appropriate to consider a 12 V alternator with 67 % efficiency as an appropriate baseline technology.

The CO₂ savings of a vehicle equipped with a 12 V efficient alternator may be partially demonstrated by means of the test referred to in Annex XII to Commission Regulation (EC) No 692/2008^f10. It is therefore necessary to ensure that this partial coverage is taken into account in the testing methodology for CO₂ savings from vehicles fitted with 12 V efficient alternators.

In order to facilitate a wider deployment of 12 V efficient alternators in new vehicles, a manufacturer should also have the possibility to apply for the certification of the CO₂ savings for vehicles equipped with several 12 V efficient alternators by a single certification application. It is however appropriate to ensure that where this possibility is used a mechanism is applied that incentivises the deployment of only those alternators that offer the highest efficiency.

For the purposes of determining the general eco-innovation code to be used in the relevant type approval documents in accordance with Annexes I, VIII and IX to Directive 2007/46/EC, the individual code to be used for the innovative technology should be specified,

HAS ADOPTED THIS DECISION: