Euro 7 rules for electric cars are coming to Great Britain. The government confirmed on 27 October that all new cars and vans registered from 29 November 2027 must meet the Euro 7 standard, which for the first time sets minimum standards for how well an EV's battery holds its capacity.
What Euro 7 means for electric cars
Euro 7 is best known as an emissions standard for petrol and diesel cars, but it's the first to cover electric cars in a meaningful way. Under the EU rules the UK is adopting, a battery has to keep at least 80% of its original capacity after five years or 100,000 km (62,000 miles), and at least 72% after eight years or 160,000 km (99,000 miles). The same rules apply to the batteries in plug-in hybrids.
Range falls roughly in line with capacity, so a car with a WLTP range of 500 km (310 miles) when new would still have around 400 km (250 miles) after five years at the minimum, and around 360 km (225 miles) after eight. For the first time, there's a legal floor that applies to every new EV, whatever the manufacturer's own warranty says.
Cars also have to be fitted with accurate, accessible battery health monitors. The government says these will give second-hand buyers standardised, comparable information on a battery's condition. Euro 7 also brings in limits on particles from brakes and standards for tyre wear, which apply to electric cars as well as combustion-engined ones.
Dates for the UK and Ireland
In Great Britain, Euro 7 applies to all new light-duty registrations, meaning cars and vans, from 29 November 2027. Small-volume manufacturers have until 1 July 2030. Cars already on the road aren't affected.
The government had proposed an earlier date of 29 November 2026 for brand-new models, matching the EU, but it has decided not to make that mandatory in UK law. The UK also won't run its own approval process: cars approved under EU or UN rules can be sold in Great Britain, so manufacturers can build one version for both markets. Replacement brakes fitted to Euro 7 cars won't have to meet the new brake wear rules at first.
In Ireland, Euro 7 applies directly as EU law. It already covers newly approved car models from 29 November 2026, and extends to all new cars and vans registered from 29 November 2027, the same date as in Great Britain.
What it means for buyers
For new-car buyers, little changes straight away. New models approved in the EU from 29 November 2026 have to meet the standard, so Euro 7 cars will start reaching showrooms before the rules apply to every registration. Petrol and diesel cars face the bigger technical changes, including diesel limits for nitrogen oxides brought down to the petrol level.
The bigger difference for EV drivers comes later, in the used market. A standard battery health readout should make it much easier to compare used electric cars and to see whether a battery is ageing normally, and the durability minimums give buyers of older EVs a baseline to judge them against.
(Correct at 28 October 2026.)