The European Commission has fined car manufacturers and industry association €458 million for operating a recycling cartel. The case reveals urgent gaps in transparency, accountability, and fairness in end-of-life vehicle management, says the European Environmental Bureau (EEB).

As EU legislators work to revise the regulation on vehicle design and end-of-life management, campaigners calls for ambitious rules to hold producers accountable and ensure transparency.

Fynn Hauschke, Policy Officer for Circular Economy and Waste at the EEB, said:

“The Commission’s action highlights the lack of transparency and accountability in end-of-life vehicles management, the power imbalance between multinational car corporations and dismantlers, and the harmful practices of major car producers, which hurt both consumers and small, family-run businesses vital to Europe’s circular economy.

When manufacturers withhold crucial information on vehicle materials and dismantling, they undermine informed consumer choices and prevent dismantlers from working sustainably.

This case underscores the urgent need for a robust, harmonised Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) system in the revised End-of-Life Vehicles Directive. Producers must bear full responsibility for their vehicles’ environmental and social impacts, from design to dismantling, under the Polluter Pays Principle.

Transparency must also be a cornerstone of the new rules. The proposed Circularity Vehicle Passport could help, but in its current form, it falls short compared to other digital product passports, lacking key data on environmental footprint, hazardous substances, and EPR compliance.

We urge co-legislators to take this as a wake-up call, and adopt ambitious rules for vehicle design and end-of-life management.”